Hamau Pohaku
by angelofjoy
Summary: When the rock of Five-O is taken and the baddie threatens his life, can Steve and the team hold it together long enough to find Danny before their time runs out? Rated T for Language and Violence.
1. Taken

**A/N: A New Story for a New Year! Yeah, I know I have seven other stories on the go… someone should slap my hands, but what is done is done and I have six chapters already written for this story! After being told by a bunch of people that I needed to turn two little vignettes I wrote into a full length story, I just couldn't let it go. So here is chapter one, tell me what you think!**

**Enjoy.**

**As always I own nothing!**

Chapter 1: Taken

"Nice work Detective," Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett stated as he clapped his partner on the back upon their exit from their mutual place of employment. "That case was a tough one but you nailed it Danny," he added as they both made their way toward the same vehicle.

"I pay attention," Danny smiled as he pulled the Camaro keys out of his pocket, "Detective work isn't just about running off buildings and blowing shit up. It takes time, patience and a lot of instinct." He stated and tossed the keys to his partner.

"That's why I keep you around!" Steve laughed, "Wanna grab a beer?" he asked once both men were comfortably situated in their usual seats.

Everything had become second nature with these men. They were such polar opposites that it was almost unfathomable that they hadn't killed each other; but their morals were the same, they were both subconsciously starved for the connection and brotherhood that had formed between them and they were loyal to one another almost to a fault.

Danny was the seasoned cop, image and all. He knew his beat, he knew protocol and he had an intuitive mind that let him see the tell-tale signs of lies. He was also a scrapper, standing at five foot five, he had fought all his life to be seen and heard. Now with his sharp tongue and strength, having been through more than most physically and emotionally, he was the perfect match for his partner.

Steve was navy through and through. Hardened to his core, Steve could not tolerate injustice. Differentiating right from wrong was almost black and white; he didn't see the shades of grey. This was where Danny came in. The men were two parts of one whole. Something had always been missing until they met three years ago, as they stared down each others guns, neither ready to give in but neither ready to shoot the other.

Danny had found a home, a family, a brother whom he needed to keep his own sanity. Steve had also rediscovered his home, found a connection that had been lost within years of violence. He had learned the subtleties of love because Danny and his wild, uncontrollable dedication had showed him just how strong love could be.

Danny sighed as he rested his head on the back of the passenger seat, "you know, after that case, I could honestly justify getting drunk, but I'm just too tired." He said, "can we rain check the beers? I'll power nap while you drive yourself home."

"You sure you don't want me to just drop you off at your place?" Steve asked with a laugh.

"No, you know I need the car in the morning to take Grace to school." Danny sighed. "Besides I'll be fine to get me back to my place."

"If you say so," Steve smiled and pulled the Camaro out of its spot in the Palace parking lot.

The drive to Steve's was silent, which was an odd occurrence when both men were in the vehicle, but Danny really was exhausted. Steve wondered if his now sleeping partner was really in any stated to drive himself, but as Steve pulled the car to a halt, Danny's eyes flew open.

"You sure you're okay to drive?"

"Yes Steven," Danny stated as he yawned and stretched. "All I needed was a cat nap, besides its only about ten minutes to my place."

"Alright," Steve said as he pushed open his door and Danny did the same. At the front of the car they crossed paths as Steve moved to walk up to his font door and Danny ducked toward the driver's side.

"What time can I expect you tomorrow?" Steve called from the door.

"If I'm not there by ten send a search party!" Danny joked.

"Will do!"

Danny climbed back into the Camaro and watched as Steve passed through the door and it was shut behind him. The lights in the house flashed on and Danny took that as his cue to leave. Pulling out of the driveway into the dark residential street in the silent Camaro Danny once again wondered how he had gotten to this point in his life. The motions he went through were the routine he'd known all his life and yet he existed in this strange place, where the ocean could be heard almost everywhere and where palm trees stood like soldiers along every street. He was so far away from Jersey and yet he almost didn't mind it anymore. He had found life, excitement, love and companionship, but most of all the people he called his Ohana, (and yes he had adopted the term), accepted him for who he was. Danny didn't have to yell anymore to be heard or to be taken seriously. He did it now because he could and because it was what people expected.

Danny pulled the car to a stop one last time that day, shut down the engine and sighed. This was home; the usual movements of life came to him and brought him here. Tomorrow was another day. He was content knowing that Steve didn't mind that they didn't get beers, or that Kono and Chin wouldn't be offended if they had. He was content to joke around with Lori and eat out at Kamekona's. He was amused by the oddity that was Max and he couldn't be happier to know that his daughter had found a loving, positive influence in her life as well.

As he got out of the car he realized just how dark it was out in the middle of the pacific ocean and he fumbled with his keys as he moved toward the staircase that would lead up to his floor. Danny had finally found an apartment suited to his needs and in a good neighbourhood but as he moved closer to the building he realized that the lights, both of them, were out leaving the stair well bathed in darkness.

"Well the Super will hear about this!" Danny stated to himself as he moved into the darkness, "This is a safety issue!" he grumbled as he began climbing the stairs, his keys clasped tightly in his other hand as he ran his right palm along the banister. "I pay too much to have to wander around in the dark," he sighed as he reached the first landing and the light in the second set of stairs blinded him momentarily.

Danny squinted into the bright light and saw two figures before him. They were people he didn't recognize but he didn't like the look of the weapon in one mans hand. Instinctively he reached for his weapon as he threw his other hand out in front of him, but the men were too quick. Danny's eyes didn't even have time to fully focus when he felt a stinging blow from behind and his world was bathed in black once more.


	2. Daniel

**A/N: Alright, so I decided two chapters in one night is alright for a new story! Hope you like it! Tell me what you think!**

**Enjoy**

**As always, I own nothing!**

Chapter 2: Daniel

Steve walked into the Five-O bullpen bright and early the following morning, knowing he would have the whole space to himself for at least another hour. He had always been an early riser and with Danny's help, he had gotten used to finishing whatever paperwork he could to start the day afresh. As of that moment, Steve didn't have another case, but he wanted to be ready if something came up. He walked through the glass doors to his own private space and sat down behind his desk. His morning rituals was always the same, sit down, turn on the computer, and then tackle the pile of paper work for the previous day. However, today at the early hour the flashing light for his office voice mail caught his attention. It wasn't odd to get calls in the office, but it wasn't as common as people calling his cell directly. If a call went through to his office, it usually wasn't an important call, but the fact that Steve had left the office with Danny after dark the previous day and arrived early enough that the sun still wasn't high in the sky made him wonder who else was a work-a-holic.

Steve picked up the receiver to the land line and punched in the voice mail code.

"You have one new message." The automated voice stated. "To listen to a message press one, to hear old messages press two, to delete a message press nine."

Steve hit one as he watched his email window pop up on his computer monitor.

"Do you know where Daniel is?" the voice on the message asked and then the automated voice returned, "to hear message again press one, to hear next message press two, to delete this message press nine."

Steve hit one, this time as he stared at the phone beside him.

"Do you know where Daniel is?" the message played again.

Steve slammed down the receiver of his land line. Pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Danny's number fully expecting to get yelled at for the early morning wake up call.

"You've reached Danny Williams; sorry I can't take your called. Please leave a message." Danny's familiar voice messaged played in Steve's ear.

"No, I don't know where Daniel is," Steve stated out loud to himself.

5-0

Lori Weston was an early riser, not as early as Steve, but earlier then Danny. Even after almost a year on the task force, Lori felt like she still had something to prove. She showered, dressed and was out of her house and ready to head to the office before 8am. The sun was bright and beautiful this morning as she sauntered across her driveway to her car and then stopped. There behind her rear driver side wheel was a pile of dark, rich, black earth, like someone had over-turned a flower pot in her driveway. Lori scanned the potted plants she had put together not a week ago, having finally found time for one of her favorite hobbies, but all of her plants were in their places.

"Odd," She said to herself as she climbed into her vehicle and back out, crushing the pile of soil.

5-0

Walking with his wife to the front door of his house, Chin Ho Kelly had always been one to appreciate the finer things in life. Marital bliss had been a long time coming for the Hawaii native, but finally Chin was happy in his life and wished to spend every moment he could with his beautiful wife.

"I have a full twenty four today," Malia sighed, her coffee mug in one hand as they stopped and shared a moment on their front steps, "so I won't see you until Wednesday evening."

"I can bring you dinner if you like," Chin smiled.

"That would be nice, but if you get busy don't worry," She smiled, kissing him one last time and skipped down the steps toward her car.

Chin's eyes never left his beautiful wife until the car was well on its way down the street. Then he turned to the mail box on the side of his house and noticed it was more stuffed than usual. Pulling out the wad of flyers and the morning news paper, Chin heard something metallic scrape across the bottom of the letter box. Lifting the lid all the way he spotted a familiar brand of weapon, it was the same gun Danny used.

5-0

Kono Kalakaua rose with the sun. She was young and vibrant and knew that her days were always so full that early mornings were the only time she could get to the water to surf. The beach was deserted when she arrived and, throwing the casual clothing she wore over her bikini on top of the duffle with her work cloths she packed in her truck, Kono locked her car. She pulled her board off the rood rack, hid her keys in the driver side wheel well and proceeded to surf until the rising sun told her that it was time to head to the office.

Kono came back to the beach, hoisted her board under her arm and ran up the sand feeling its heat under her feet, until she reached her car. She placed the board back on the roof rack, retrieved her keys from the wheel well and opened the back hatch for her towel and duffle bag. She wrapped the towel around herself and grabbed the bag, unzipped the zipper and pulling out her weapon, her badge and her phone and set them aside to get out her work clothing. As her finger glided across the touch screen she realized that she had missed a call from an unknown number and one from Steve. Hitting the voice mail key, she listened as she slipped off her bikini bottoms under the towel and proceeded to dress for work.

"_Five little soldier boys going in for law. One got in Chancery and then there were four._" The unfamiliar voice in the first message stated.

"Odd," Kono stated out loud to herself and then moved on to the next message.

"Kono, is Danny out surfing with you? Call me when you get this!" Steve stated with an edge of concern on his voice.

5-0

Steve paced the length of the Five-O bullpen, rolling his cell over in his hand. With every pass he looked up at the smart center of operations, the HPD crest and the icons on the computer table. With every other pass he hit the play back on the audio he managed to transfer from his land line to the smart system. He listened to the question over and over again, growing more anxious as time went on.

Lori was the second member of the task force to arrive. She stopped in her tracks as the question played loud and clear. Steve looked up at her while he continued to pace.

"Do you know where Danny is?" Steve asked the shocked woman.

"I haven't seen him since I left last night. He was with you."

"Can you pull up the incoming call records for my office phone? I want to know when this call came in," Steve stated and played the question again.

"I'm on it boss," Lori answered the call to duty and rushed off into her office space.

Chin was the third to arrive, carrying a clear plastic Ziploc bag with the weapon that was left in his mailbox.

"What is going on?" he asked as Steve continued to pace.

"Have you seen Danny?" Steve asked in response to Chin's question.

"No, but this was left in my mailbox." Chin stated and placed the bagged weapon on the table.

"I got this, this morning," Steve stated and hit play.

"You think its Danny's?" Chin asked and motioned to the gun.

"It looks like Danny's," Steve sighed as Kono walked in.

"Ok, boss, I got your messaged but I got this weird one too, and no, Danny wasn't with me." Kono stated and laid her smart phone on the smart computer.

"What does it all mean?" Steve asked as he rubbed the side of his head.

"Judging from what we have, I'd say we are down one man," Chin sighed.

"And then there were four," Kono gasped.

"I found the records," Lori stated as she came back into the common space and her eyes fell on the gun and the second audio clip. "What is this?" she asked.

"Someone has left us messages, all of us," Chin stated.

"Is there anything on your phone?" Steve asked frantically.

"No," Lori answered, "but someone left a pile of black earth in my driveway this morning." She explained. "It was in a perfect mold like someone was going to build a sand castle but it's not like the soil in my area."

"It's got to be a hint." Kono stated and leaned on the smart table.

"Ok, Kono, you trace your phone records to see if we can match our two callers. Also, activate the GPS in Danny's phone. Lori, you take Chin and get a sample of the dirt in your driveway and get it to the lab. Take the gun with you and see if they can tell us if it's Danny's." Steve ordered.

"We're on it!" Chin stated as he grabbed the bagged weapon.

"What are you going to do?" Lori asked as Steve continued to roll his phone over in his hand.

"I have to call Rachel and tell her something has happened to Danny." Steve sighed.

"Good Luck," Chin tried to smile. "Don't worry Steve, we'll find him."

"I shouldn't have left him alone last night!" Steve sighed as his cell began to ring.

Kono looked up from the computer in shock as Steve slammed down his phone, "McGarrett." He answered as the speakers connected.

_"…Daniel my brother, you are older than m do you still feel the pain of the scares that won't heal? Your eyes have died, but you see more than I. Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky…_" the call played that one verse of the well known song and then the call ended.

"Did you trace it?" Steve asked his face having gone white.

"It was too short," Kono sighed.

Steve's phone flew across the room and smashed into a million pieces as its owner could no longer hold back his anger and uncontrollable fear.

**A/N: So I used a portion of a poem used in the book _And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie_ and Part of song _Daniel by Elton John_. There will be more pop culture references through this whole story! Watch for them!**


	3. Pieces

**A/N: Just a little update today. Hope you enjoy chapter 3. We are putting things together, one by one, but it's not going to be as easy as it may seem.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 3: Pieces

Steve fell into his desk chair running his hands nervously through his hair, he played over the conversation he was about to have with his partners ex-wife. After witnessing Steve lose his cool in the bullpen Steve's counterparts set off to accomplish what they were ordered to do. He could still see Kono moving about the smart computer with concern in her movements. He knew Chin and Lori were working hard, but as the clock struck ten and Danny still hadn't walked into the office Steve was ready to send out the search party, but where would they start?

Again Kono's words played over in his mind, "Don't worry boss man, in that Elton John song Daniel isn't actually dead. You have to keep the hope alive." she was right, but Danny was still missing in action and it was up to Steve to start making the calls.

"Hello," Rachel answered as Steve dialed the first emergency number he had for his partner.

"Rachel, its Steve…"

"Steven, where the hell is Daniel, he was supposed to be here over an hour ago to pick up Grace. Now she's late for school and I'm late for my meeting…"

"Rachel something has happened to Danny," Steve interrupted the English woman's rant.

"Oh God, is he alright?" he tone changed completely.

"We don't know, he's missing," Steve sighed trying to hold onto his composure but admitting to Rachel that Danny wasn't around was enough to shake Steve's resolve.

"Missing, what do you mean missing?"

"I mean none of us know where he is. He's not answering his phone and we've gotten some strange messaged about him." Steve tried to explain.

"Like ransom demands?" Rachel asked fearfully.

"No, not yet," Steve sighed, "but we are expecting something like that to occur."

"Oh God what has he gotten himself into?"

"I don't know but I figured you had a right to know. If you hear of anything, please call us."

"I will Steven," Rachel said as her voice hitched, "find him, you have to!"

5-0

Steve jumped as he saw Kono bolt out of the office. He'd been staring at his office for the past hour just waiting, willing the phone to ring with more information about Danny, but nothing had happened until the young Hawaiian rushed out. Moving slowly, Steve left his office and walked to stand before the smart computer. The phone records, his and Kono's, were all up on the screens as well as the GPS map for Danny's phone. It was in the palace and it was moving.

Steve's heart leapt as the phone signal moved through the building and Steve turned, half expecting Danny to walk in through their office doors but, to his surprise, it was Kono.

"Look what just arrived, addressed to you, in this mornings mail." Kono stated, black latex gloved on her hands as she carried a brown paper envelope. "Ten to one Danny's phone is in there," she added and placed the envelope down on the table

Before Steve could snap on his own pair of gloves the office door flew open again and Governor Dennings marching in.

"Who is being careless?" the governor demanded as he slammed a Five-O badge down on the smart table.

Steve and Kono stared on in fearful concern.

"With all due respect sir, where did you get that and how many people have handled it?" Steve asked eyeing the badge as if it could be a bomb.

"It arrived this morning, dropped on the doorstep of the Governors mansion." Dennings huffed.

"In an envelope or as is?" Kono asked.

"As is!" The governor yelled, "What is going on here?"

"That badge belongs to Detective Williams and he went missing late last night." Steve stated ripping open the envelope and dropping Danny's phone onto the table.

The touch screen flashed to life and showed that Danny had been missing calls since about 7am.

"Kono, print this and the badge and then get this envelope down to the lab to see if they can get anything off of the seal," Steve ordered.

"I'm on it boss!" Kono stated and scooped the items off the table top.

"Have you received any demands?" Dennings asked when Kono was out of the room.

"No, not yet, but they are toying with us." Steve explained. "We've gotten three cryptic calls, a gun and some dirt to go with his phone and his badge."

"I can get you surveillance from the mansion," Dennings said as he leaned on the smart table, "maybe you'll be able to find out who dropped off the badge from our footage."

"Thank you," Steve sighed, "I'm going to retrace Danny's steps after he left my place last night to see if I can find anything else."

"You're not going alone!"

"No, I'll take Chin," Steve stated as the older man walked through the doors.

"Leaving the girls with the lab techs?" Chin asked

"Anything on the gun?" Steve asked ignoring Chin's question.

"Not yet, but it's with Lori and Charlie." Chin answered.

"Find him Commander." Dennings ordered as he turned on his heals and marched out.

"What was that all about?" Chin asked as the governor left.

"Danny's badge was left at the mansion this morning," Steve explained, "his phone arrived with the morning mail and you and I are off to find the Camaro and the scene of this crime."

"Let's go!" Chin stated and followed the Commander's lead.

5-0

Steve sped through the streets of Honolulu, his mind working overtime on the possibilities of what happened. He was going to start at Danny's, make sure that his partner had actually made it home. If he didn't find the Camaro then he would put out an immediate call to find it, on Chin's phone of course because his has been smashed to pieces.

Both men let out a sigh of relief as they pulled into the parking lot of Danny's apartment complex and found the Camaro in its usual parking spot.

"He made it home!" Steve stated as he stopped the truck and practically flew out of it.

"Hang on big guy!" Chin stated seeing the envelope on the hood of the car, "this all looks a little too staged."

Steve nodded impatiently, and without touching the car he peered into the drive side window.

"It's locked and his keys are on the drive side seat," Steve stated as Chin pressed his phone to his ear.

"Can I get the CSU out to Princess Apartments on Cambrian?" Chin stated into his phone, "We have an officer missing." He added.

Steve's breath hitched as Chin made the statement. It was now the middle of the afternoon and there was still no sign of Danny, but Steve hadn't wanted to admit that his partner was missing. He still wanted to believe that Danny was in his apartment, but it was less likely now.

"We'll wait for the unit and check out the rest of this place. It looks like there is surveillance on the parking lot," Chin stated as he turned and scanned all the telephone poles and palm trees in the area.

"Look, those lights," Steve stated as he rushed toward the building.

On the side of the apartment building Steve looked up at the two security lights. The remains of two bulbs were still in the sockets but the bulbs, their glass and filaments, were gone.

"Here," Chin stated as he knelt down near the wall. "Someone smashed these."

"With this?" Steve asked as he pulled a Louisville Slugger out of the hedge. "Chin there is blood on this!"

Chin looked up to see Steve's face go white. "We'll get it to the lab," he sighed and took the bat from Steve as Steve bolted into the stairwell.

"More blood," Steve called from the first landing. "And I have a bullet lodged in the concrete." He added as the screaming of sirens filled the air.

"Alright, looks like we have found our scene," Chin stated, "at least it's a place to start."

5-0

Kono's phone rang as she and Lori were coming out of the crime lab. The results were in on the gun, it was Danny's, and the prints that were not his were lifted from the weapon as well as the phone and his badge. Now as the girls headed back to Kono's vehicle the phone ringing made them both jump.

They both stared down at the unknown caller display.

"Let it go to voicemail." Lori stated as she grabbed Kono's wrist. "That way we have the message. We don't have time to set up our equipment to trace it so at least we'll have something."

Kono listed to the reasoning of the former homeland security agent and waited. When the voicemail prompt finally flashed Kono put the phone on speaker and let the message play.

"Tell me officer Kalakaua, what do you know about Schrödinger's Cat?"

Kono looked at Lori in confusion.

"I've never heard of Schrödinger's Cat!" Lori stated as the phone began to ring again, this time it was Chin calling.

"Kono we found the Camaro and where Danny was taken from. Can you and Lori get out here?" Chin asked.

"We're on our way, where are we going?" she asked.

"Danny's apartment."

**A/N: Ok, just a little background on Schrödinger's Cat and his principle. This is from physicsworld dot com**

_**In his original thought experiment, Schrodinger imagined that a cat is locked in a box, along with a radioactive atom that is connected to a vial containing a deadly poison. If the atom decays, it causes the vial to smash and the cat to be killed. When the box is closed we do not know if the atom has decayed or not, which means that it can be in both the decayed state and the non-decayed state at the same time. Therefore, the cat is both dead and alive at the same time - which clearly does not happen in classical physics.**_

**Schrödinger, in 1935 was trying to explain the parallels in quantum mechanics with this principle; specifically that quantum particles such as atoms can be in two or more states at the same time but that larger things, made up of many atoms, could not under normal circumstances. He then proposed this thought experiment in which once the box was closed you didn't know if the atom had decayed and killed the cat or not so the cat could be both alive and dead at the same time, that is until you opened the box and then you would see if the cat was dead or alive. **

**For our purpose, think of Danny in the box. Morbid, I know, but it's all part of the profile for the killer.**


	4. Ransom

**A/N: Hello Again! Don't you love the updates every day? I have one more chapter after this one for you and then I have to get back to writing. I want to thank those of you who have started to follow this story and who have commented. I miss you guys! I'm so glad you like it! More angst and intrigue to come but not a whole lot of Whump…I mean Danny is in a box…not much can happen right? Or can then? Muhahaha. Sorry, I'm feeling really dramatic today! More to come tomorrow!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 4: Ransom

Kono and Lori arrived to find the whole building blocked off by yellow caution tape and police officers as the outside of the building was a buzz with activity both law enforcement and civilian. The girls flashed their identification at the entrance to the lot and then bolted to where they saw Steve and Chin standing.

"We found a bat with blood on it, a bullet in a wall and this," Steve stated and held out a piece of paper to Kono and Lori.

"It's a receipt for a five foot, eight inch, mahogany casket." Kono gasped.

"We know where it was purchased from, maybe we can find out by whom." Steve sighed.

"Have you ever heard of Schrödinger's Cat?" Lori asked seemingly out of the blue.

"Yeah why?" Steve asked angrily.

"Because Kono got another message from our unknown caller, they want to know if she knew about Schrödinger's Cat." Lori explained.

Steve sighed, ran his shaking hands through his hair. "They are toying with us. Danny could be alive or dead if you follow Schrödinger's principle."

5-0

By 12am the smart system was working at full tilt. Finger print searches and crime scene photos were layered over everything and four members of Five-O tired to put the pieces together as Steve's new phone, with his old sim card, began ringing.

"What do you want?" Steve demanded as he connected the phone and the unknown caller to the smart system completely expecting another cryptic riddle.

"I assume you've got a good enough trail to lead you through my little rat race." The voice stated.

"Where is Danny? Is he alive?" Steve asked.

"Oh he's as alive as he is dead, and as dead as he is alive." the voice chuckled. "It's all up to you McGarrett. This little experiment is all about Five-O, or should I say Four-O, there are only four of you now!"

"There are five of us you bastard!" Kono yelled.

"If you've not got a nice thing to say, say nothing at all!"

"What do you want?" Steve asked again.

"The moon and the stars," the man laughed, "have you traced this call yet?" his laughter continued.

Kono shook her head.

"Well let me help you," The voice sang. "This is a cellular phone, a disposable, and I am walking casually down the Waikiki beach. When I'm finished conversing with you fine people I'll have finished with this phone. And I'll be well on my way to another beautiful location. I will tell you that I believe that if you watch the traffic cameras, like the one I've just passed and waved at, you'll find me to be a handsome man but not Hawaiian. If you trace the finger prints I've left you, you'll find I've had altercations with Detective Williams before. If you are a clever bunch and do as I say you will see the good Jerseyan again."

"Give us proof he's alive," Steve demanded.

"Is Schrödinger not enough to go on?" he asked jovially. "Alright, the detective has a bump on the head but he should make a full recovery. He was breathing the last I laid eyes on him, but my colleagues have taken him to a secured location, which I'm sure you could find if you are clever enough."

"So, if you want us to find him, what is the purpose of your charade?" Chin asked seeing the anger flash like fire in Steve's eyes.

"Entertainment Lieutenant Kelly," The kidnapper answered.

"What is your name?" Lori asked.

"I'm sure you'll know soon enough Agent Weston."

"If entertainment is what you are after, what was the point in taking Danny?" Steve asked.

"He's your prize McGarrett. I want to see if you really are the best of the best. If you can find the detective and open Schrödinger's box, then I'll be happy to play whatever game you want with me. Catch me if you can McGarrett."

"What if I refuse to play your game?" McGarrett asked.

"Then I release the poison that will kill the cat."

"Fine, the game is yours. What do we do now?" Steve sighed.

"Put together the puzzle." The kidnapper laughed, "You have until noon today to know who I am. After that you'll get more clues."

"I want proof of life!" Steve stated, "Hard proof that Danny is alive."

"In the morning," The man chuckled, "for now get some rest, or have a drink. I prefer rum. '_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me. We pillage, plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot…_" he sang and Steve could almost hear the man skipping along to the song, and then _he_ ended the call.

"Did you get the trace?" Steve asked.

"He's telling the truth," Kono stated and motioned to the screen. "It's a disposable cell; we can trace it to wherever he drops it but not back to him."

"If he's at the beach there are more cameras then he thinks," Chin stated.

"Or maybe he knows and he's giving us more to go on," Lori suggested.

"I'll get the surveillance," Chin stated, "not that it will show much in the dark."

"I managed to record the whole conversation." Kono added, "And we know Danny had run into this guy before. I'll go through his old cases to see if I can flag anything with the fingerprints."

"I'll help you," Steve sighed. "Have we got anything else back from the lab?"

"Yes, the dirt is from up in the Mililani valley; hundreds of acres of land." Lori sighed.

"And the surveillance from the governor arrived about an hour ago." Kono added.

"Before dawn I want to see his face!" Steve stated angrily.

"We're on it boss!" Kono and Lori stated together and their attention was pulled back to the smart system.

Steve sighed and walked off to his office. It was going to be a long night.

**A/N: Today's references come from The _Pirates of the Caribbean Song by Disney_, from the poem _Catch Me If You Can_ and by the letter D…wait no.**


	5. Breathe

**A/N: Alright, this is where it all started. The two middle sections, although there have been some additions made, are two of my vignettes from _The Songs of our Lives: Part II_. I never meant for these two song stories to become a full length, but when I wrote the first one the second one just happened, and then a bunch of people told me I just couldn't leave it there. **

**So, yes, you finally get to see Danny and now we're really off and rolling! And the Kidnapper is a real creeper. He's only going to get worse from here.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Breathe

Kono covered her face with her hands as she and Lori worked over the smart computer. Chin had moved off to his office to go through surveillance in silence and the dark, while Steve combed through files, spent most of the night on the phone with New Jersey and brought up files upon files that Danny had worked back in his time as a cop on the mean streets of New Jersey.

"Whoa, wait!" Lori stated as a database search stopped flashed a match to a set of finger prints and files popped up before them.

"Our guy said he wasn't from around here, but this suspect is Samoan," Kono stated.

"He did say he had help," Lori smirked.

"We have an address on this one; he's wanted on some lesser charges." Kono smiled, "we might be able to get some answers.

"I found him!" Steve stated as he burst out of his office. "His name is Daniel McMahon. He was one of Danny's first cases as a detective and probably one of the viler and messed up ones. He was charged with 18 counts of rape and murder of little girls. He lured them in with little books and poems and sometimes candy. He hunted his prey through his business; he ran a candy story that had been in his family for generations. They nick named him the Wonka Killer. He was sentences to 450 years in prison. About six months ago he escaped by killing three guards with a make shift taser and poison he distilled himself. He was spotted in Washington, Oregon and California but he was never apprehended." Steve stated and from his tablet through all of the information, matched fingerprints, and active warrants onto the smart system screens.

"That's him alright!" Chin stated as he burst out of his office and with his tablet through surveillance photos onto the screen. "Here he is at the governor's mansion, again on Waikiki beach and in the parking lot at Danny's. We also have his colleagues on the surveillance from the apartment complex, and a DNA match on the blood we found in the stairwell from the bullet Danny shot."

"He shot McMahon?" Steve asked.

"No, one of his accomplices," Chin stated and shot two other photos up on the screens.

"We already have Eli Watson," Lori stated and motioned to the finger print match.

"The other is Jeremy Kalani," Chin stated.

"Kalani, as in the drug case we just closed?" Steve asked as he stared on in shock.

"They are brothers, by the looks of things. Jeremy is Walters's younger brother. He hadn't had any ties to the drug ring his brother was heading, but he does have a record for armed robbery and battery." Chin explained, "And it looks like Danny nicked him with the bullet we found in the stairwell."

"Alright, so we have names and face, but that's what McMahon wanted. Now what do we do, sit around and wait?" Steve asked.

"Well the two locals have local addresses." Kono stated.

"It's a start, but what if they are hiding out. Their boss seemed to be out in the open a lot, but someone needs to stay with Danny," Lori stated.

"Danny's in the box," Steve said, "that's how they are holding him and that is why McMahon is using his Schrödinger's principle. We need to find that box and open it or we'll never know if he is dead or alive."

"This guy is absolutely sick!" Kono stated angrily.

"He'll give us our next clue at dawn," Chin sighed, "until then, we run everything we have to see if we can narrow down our search for Danny. Do everything we can, I've already contacted the lab to have Charlie double and triple check our evidence for trace."

"I'm going to have every officer on this island looking for McMahon!" Steve vowed and stormed off to his office.

"That's just what he wants," Chin sighed.

"There has to be something else." Kono whispered just as the monitors and the computers, and everything connected with their case flashed to black.

5-0

"_Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three…_"

A familiar voice startled Danny out of the restless slumber that had taken over after he'd been captured.

Danny sat up, felt his head make contact with something very hard and he laid himself back down to stop the stars from haloing before his eyes. Once again he waited, waited for his eyes to adjust, for the aches and pains of his body to subside before he moved at all.

Movement was limited, there was white satin all around him, like beautiful bedding, but it wasn't thick enough to make it comfortable and only inches from his face was the tucked and pinned fabric of the lid. He recognized the material and the way it was stitched together, but he couldn't remember from where. He leaned back again taking another deep breath; finding it difficult to breath in the confined space; and then it hit him. He realized where he had seen the same craftsmanship before and panic set in.

Danny was lying in a modern, sturdy, mahogany casket. He had seen enough of them in his day, but not from this side before. Was he dead? No, that wasn't possible; he was in too much pain to be dead. How did he get here? Danny thought long and hard, trying to keep his breathing regulated, tried to stay calm and use as little of the precious oxygen that he had left. He though back, he had been in the Camaro, on his way home for the night. They had just closed a case, he was with his partner until he had dropped Steve off at his place and then he had headed back into the city, and then he stopped, pulled the Camaro into its space in the apartment complex parking lot. He remembered getting out of the car. He remembered fumbling with his keys for the right key to his apartment. He remembered looking up at the pair of lights that had been burnt out before the front entrance to the building and he had made a mental note to take it up with the building super…then he didn't remember anything else.

Danny's hand moved instinctively, though it was difficult to maneuver in the casket, to the space on his head that ached more then any other spot and he felt the dried blood that had accumulated on his scalp and that ran down the side of his face. No, definitely not dead, yet. He planted his hands firmly on the inside of the caskets lid and with all of his might he pushed. The lid moved only slightly and as it did Danny felt something seep in through the tiny crack and immediately he released and let the lit fall shut again. He felt to his side and there he found the gritty remains of the soil that had managed to invade what little space he had.

"Holy shit," Danny said out loud to himself as he arms fell, liked led weights, to his sides, "I'm not getting out of this one."

"That's right Detective, you're not," A voice came from somewhere in the darkness. "Yes, you are being watched, we can hear you and we can tell you, you've found yourself in six cold feet of jungle soil. Are you prepared to cooperate?"

"What do you want?" Danny asked as he moved slightly and looked toward the foot of his coffin, there was nothing there that he could see, it was too dark. He then moved slightly and saw the little green flashing light just behind his head.

"What we want is McGarrett's weakness," The voice stated, "and we think we've found it. So just sit back and relax, don't make this any harder on yourself. For now you have enough oxygen to keep you alive, isn't technology wonderful? Yes, this is just an elaborate holding cell, but don't try anything because with one flick of a switch we can shut down your life line, and quicker than you expect, your oxygen will be gone."

"McGarrett will find me," Danny spat angrily.

"Yes, we hope so," the voice stated with a sickeningly sadistic humor in its tone, "You see, McGarrett, we aren't playing around."

"Danny…" McGarretts voice could be heard now.

"Whatever they want Steven, DON'T give it to them!" Danny ordered.

"Danny I have too!" Steve stated.

"Don't you dare, you're better than that!"

5-0

Kono, Lori and Chin held their breaths as they watched every last monitor in the bullpen flash black, like someone had come in and tampered with their equipment. Then with a crackle and a pop the sound system kicked in. There was a sound like static, and then something like breathing, quick and panicked at first, then it was trying to calm down. They had been working none stop since Danny had been missing. The whole case had been on those screens and now it was gone. Frantically they listened, holding their own breaths knowing that in some way this was the kidnapper's way of communicating with them.

A grunt followed and then the sound of something, like water or like sand falling over the edge of a shovel into a hollow space; it sounded out loud and clear. Then, like a terrible omen and a cry in the darkness, words and a voice, that was all too familiar to all of the members of Five-O, cut the static.

Kono had to cover her mouth to stifle the sob that nearly escaped as teardrops rolled down Lori's cheeks and then the monitors flashed to life, every single one of them showing the image that each member of Five-O had painted in their minds and had wished they had never seen before.

Steve rushed out of his office just in time to hear the next word spoken between two men. His heart sank as the image became clearer on the monitors from all different directions. One aimed at the bloody, perspiring face of his partner.

"McGarrett will find me!"

The words echoed through the bullpen and the hairs stood up on the back of Steve's neck. It was Danny's voice, feisty and alive, but worried and trapped.

"Yes, we hope so," the voice stated with a sickeningly sadistic humor in its tone. "You see, McGarrett, we aren't playing around!"

"Danny…" Steve's voice escaped without him even wanting to let it go. He looked around at his friends and then back at the screens as Danny looked around in the dark frantically.

"Whatever they want Steven, DON'T give it to them!" Danny ordered and Steve, Chin, Kono and Lori all jumped at the idea of being connected and yet so unconnected with Danny.

"Danny I have to!" Steve stated. "This is your life we're gambling with."

"Don't you dare, you are better than that!"

"Danny they've had you for two days!" Kono cried. "You never made it home."

"Kono, it's alright, you are the best of the best. You can do this without giving in. I have faith in you." Danny said soothingly. "We have done this kind of work so many times before, together. You can do it now without me!"

"Well, well, well, it would seem like Little Danny Williams, the foreigner to your little Hawaiian family, is the rock that holds you all together," the voice stated and in that instant the Five-Os knew that it was true. "Funny that he should be buried under rock and soil, and miles and miles of jungle canopy, on this beautiful island that you call your paradise. Give me what I want McGarrett, you know my demands, or your rock will lie forever in an unmarked grave. One switch, one little circuit and his life line is off. Click, click, McGarrett. Or give me everything I've asked for and I'll give you the location of your partner."

"How do I know that if I give you anything, you won't pull the plug killing Danny anyway before I can get to him McMahon?" Steve demanded.

"McMahon," Danny gasped.

"You don't," The voice laughed, "But, good for you to have found me out. Yes Daniel, it is good to see you again!" he laughed.

"How did you get away?" Danny gasped.

"I have little tricks and secrets," McMahon laughed, "You know what I like Detective, you lived and breathed my case when you were a rookie. I still don't know how you caught me, but you should have stuck around because all I needed to know was that you were gone and I planned my escape. Now I'm back and we're going to play this game."

"No, we are not!" Danny stated fiercely.

"Oh, it's not up to you Daniel, it's up to McGarrett." McMahon laughed wickedly, "Imagine my surprise, in my jaunt around the United States, to fall into this amazing world and see your face on the cover of news papers. Little Daniel all grown up and working for the Governor of Hawaii, how very titillating, but I will admit Daniel, you were never my target. I wanted a strong man. A man like the prince charming of all my story book dreams, you know the kind of man don't you Daniel? Not you of course, you are too short. But McGarrett now there is a man! An all American hero! He's dreamy!" McMahon mocked.

"If you want me come and get me McMahon," Steve demanded.

"No, no, no McGarrett, that's not how this game works. You need to come to me. Find me in my wicked witches' castle. Find me in the gumdrop forest surrounded by ogres and trolls! And once you find me, you can rescue your dearly beloved Daniel! Ha, run down the rabbit hole with me McGarrett, and bring the two princesses you seem to keep tethered to your little troupe. You're really just pretending you know what you are doing don't you. Without Daniel how could you know? He's the brains isn't he? Of course he is. I've been watching you, following all of your cases since I arrived here. The good detective has taught you well; he learned well you know, on the mean streets of New Jersey. I was his first, are you jealous? Be jealous, we'll always have those times Daniel!" he mocked and teased and mimicked kissing over the audio that connected them. "Daniel do you remember the first day we met, not that day you came onto my case, no, no, no, the first one, you were about ten or eleven and you came into my candy story with your mommy and your daddy and all your little sisters. Adorable little sisters, pretty little sisters you had didn't you?"

"Shut your mouth!" Danny stated angrily.

"McGarrett has a sister, she's a little old for me now, but for you Daniel, oo la la, what kinds of naughty things have you imagined doing to her, or maybe she's not your type, not like Rachel, oh no. And a daughter, Daniel, you have a daughter, a pretty little perfect specimen of a child."

"Shut your mouth!" Steve and Danny hiss almost in unison.

"Oh I've stumbled onto a nerve, Daniel the protective father and his partner Steven the pedophile?" McMahon giggled wickedly. "You know, I haven't quite found the perfect one yet to put me back on my game Daniel!"

"You stay the hell away from her!" Danny yelled.

"Oh you don't have to worry Daniel; I'm not after her, not yet. I want McGarrett first, yummy, yummy, come out to play Steven!"

"What do you want?" Steve growled as his coworkers stared on in uncomfortable silence.

"I want you to find me," McMahon stated, "follow my bread crumb trail; you know what I look like now, handsome no?"

"You are a monster!" Kono hissed.

"Oh the worst kind, Miss Kalakaua, perhaps you'd like to find out just how bad." He stated saucily. "You can come too, Miss Weston, I'm not picky with my bitches!"

"You're an asshole!" Chin spat.

"I've not forgotten you, Lieutenant Kelly, although your pretty little wife is more my style and I don't think you are half as dashing as McGarrett, but you make a great side kick and a hero always needs someone at his side that is expendable!" McMahon stated in a sing song kind of way.

"Enough tell me what to do next!" Steve ordered.

"Oh I want to play," McMahon smiled, "if you get close enough to me, I'll tell you more but I've left you with plenty of clues and a direct connection to you cat in the box McGarrett. Maybe Daniel can help you decipher what I want."

"What he wants is to make you tired, to cloud your judgement and to have you make mistakes. You can't do that Steven!" Danny stated. "Don't fall victim to his tricks, that's all they are. You can find me without his help."

"Danny we have to cooperate, it's your life." Steve stated.

"You have connections, McGarrett, use them!" Danny ordered. "But do not give him anything and do not play his game! I've seen good, seasoned, cops loose their heads over this man. He's not worth it. There is always a flaw in his clues. Don't play along."

"Don't listen to him Steven, Daniel is a little grounded right now and can't come out to play!" McMahon chuckled.

"He's not giving you anything!" Danny stated loudly and with determination. "Steven, cut off the connection, don't listen to him and get to work!" he ordered.

"Danny I can't!" Steve stated despair and unbelievable hopelessness in the once strong and indestructible navy SEAL.

"That's an order Sailor!" Danny stated.

"We'll find you," Chin said softly and rushed toward the wall where the power source for the computer system was located.

"Steve," Danny shouted before the line was cut.

"What is it, Danny, what?"

"Tell Grace, Danno loves her."

"You'll tell her yourself!" Steve stated with determination as Chin pulled the plug.

**A/N: Today's references come from the 1971 movie version of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. **


	6. Silence

**A/N: happy Saturday everyone. So here is another chapter, much of it is still development. I know everyone really wanted to see Danny, so I'm giving another chapter to build up the connection between Danny and the baddie. Hope you like it!**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 6: Silence

For a long moment nothing but the silence of the bullpen could be heard. No one dared move as they stared at the black screens of the silent smart system. Then the anger set in. Standing as still as a statue Steve barely even breathed as the words and the images burned into the dark secluded recesses of his mind, and then, before anyone could register what was happening he threw the closet thing he could grab before grasping at the edge of the smart computer to steady himself.

Slowly Kono moved across the room to where the chair Steve had thrown had landed and righted it. She needed to do something, anything, to keep her emotions at bay. She laid a quivering hand on the cold glass of the door that was Danny's office and felt the crack that had appeared from the impact of Steve's anger; but still no one spoke.

Lori walked to where Kono had stopped her hand flat on Danny's office door, as she looked into Kono's tormented eyes. She turned around, leaned on the door and let her body slowly sink to the floor where she pulled her knees up to her chest. Kono followed and sat shoulder to shoulder with her counterpart, but still no one spoke.

Chin watched as the two women moved in silence together as if they were reading each other's minds and he moved to the side of the office that belonged to Danny. It felt like the closest anyone could get to Daniel knowing the trouble that he was in. Chin began to pace, his head down, his arms crossed over his chest; but still no one spoke.

Steve looked up from his leaning and saw the fracture in the door of his partner's office. It was like the fracture in the team, the great expansive divide and everything hung in the balance ready to crumble. Steve had felt this crumbling silence before in the moments before battle. It was a time when the air was filled with a static charge and one little word or move would set off the storm, only this time the storm was already raging and hopelessness was looming in and drowning the Five-Os and still no one spoke.

5-0

"Well Daniel it would seem you are the Queen Honey Bee!" McMahon stated in a sing song voice mimicking the coffee talk of his native Jersey. "It would seem I made a good choice in you. I was going to take that pretty female, the native Hawaiian, what was her name?" he taunted.

Danny didn't answer; he just listened in seething rage.

"I thought to myself, self, what would make a man's blood boil more; taking the hoes or taking the bros?" McMahon teased, "Clearly the bros worked in my favor but I didn't realize just how much. Also, for old time sake I really did want you Detective; you're the one that got away."

Danny rolled his eyes to himself know that Daniel McMahon, shop owner and psychopath, loved to talk. It was through listening that Danny had caught his break the first time.

"What's the matter Detective? Cat got your tongue?" McMahon asked, "oh wait you are the cat!" he laughed. "Come, come, it's been a long time Daniel; tell me about life in Hawaii. Its beautiful, its warm all the time and the rainbows. You are living in paradise."

"I hate it here." Danny stated.

"What? I find that hard to believe," McMahon stated in shock.

"I hate this pineapple infested hell hole; with it's constantly crashing waves, and moron drug dealers and human traffickers that shoot at me more often than not because they simply get a glimpse of my partner. It rains just when you need it to be sunny, without fail. I'm a joke to the rest of the islanders on the force, they call me Haole. My team even makes fun of the way I dress and everywhere you go there is water and you just can't escape it. I hate this place." Danny ranted.

"Well now that sounds like the Daniel I knew!" McMahon laughed. "You see, I've done you a favor Daniel, there is no water or waves where you are now. It won't rain, but alas, I can't make the sun shine under six feet of jungle soil."

"Peace and quiet for the first time since arriving here, maybe I can get a good night sleep for once in three years." Danny stated sarcastically.

"Three years, has it been that long, my goodness how the time flies when you're having fun," McMahon stated bitterly. "However did you survive?"

"I asked myself that everyday I get into a vehicle with McGarrett." Danny chuckled with distain.

"McGarrett, hmm, not Stevie or S or darling?" McMahon asked.

"We have a working relationship, there are no pet names; we're partners not lovers and certainly not friends." Danny stated.

"Nice try Daniel, but I don't buy it at all," McMahon laughed. "You may not realize it, but I've been watching you for weeks. I thought you caught me once but you went back to work like a good little detective and shrugged off the Déjà View. I most certainly saw your eyes."

"You were at the site of the Mackenzie Murder." Danny stated.

"Ever the eidetic memory, good job detective, yes it was me just beyond the police tape." McMahon said pleasantly. "Your hand brushed mine as you worked your way through the crowd of witnesses. You haven't changed since our Jersey days, but I'd say the salt water is working wonders for you dry Jersey skin!" he teased.

"I hate the water!" Danny stated.

"But love the surf, right? Five days ago with Kalakaua up at pipe line. You wiped out pretty harsh but caught the second crest like a pro. I was impressed."

"Have you been stalking me?" Danny asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"I was repaying the favor!" McMahon chuckled. "You were stalking me, not that long ago."

"I was tracking down a murderer and profiling a psychopath." Danny corrected.

"_You like potato and I like potahto_!" McMahon sang. "Do you really think that poorly of me Daniel? I have a very great mind you know."

"I'm not denying that you are a genius; evil yes, but you're smarter than I'll ever be." Danny stated playing right into McMahon's hands.

"Evil, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder." McMahon sighed wistfully. "I was building my master piece, perhaps I chose the wrong location to conduct my experiments but that is where you and your pretty partner come in. I need to continue my work, a mind as beautiful as mind needs to be challenged, but not just yet. For now you are a part of a very famous thought experiment and I hope my calculations are correct, for your sake. I like you Daniel, you have a beautiful mind too. I wouldn't want to see it wasted. Let's hope that your colleagues are as brilliant as we are. Statistically it's unlikely but maybe they learned some things from a very capable professor."

"You flatterer, it's not going to score you any brownie points," Danny stated.

"I work hard; I wouldn't want an easy out from you Daniel." McMahon chuckled

Danny fell silent again.

"You've had enough of our rhetoric?" McMahon asked.

"I've got a head ache. Someone cracked me in the head." Danny sighed.

"Take two Advil and call me in the morning," McMahon stated.

"I would if I could."

"Check you pockets detective. I take care of the ones I like." McMahon said softly. "I'll leave you alone, for now, but I'm always around if you need someone to talk to." He added and then the silence of the connection being ended and the static of the feed faded away.

Danny felt down to his pocket and sure enough he found a bottle of pills. Rolling over, as difficult as it was, he brought the bottle into the dim light that had remained from the electronics. It really was a bottle of Advil.

**A/N: Today's reference comes from the song, 'Let's _Call The Whole Thing Off_' composed by George Gershwin, the musical _The Colour Purple_ and Advil**


	7. Fracture

**A/N: Hello everyone. I am trying to keep on a good updating track but the only story I seem to be amused by, right now, is this one, so I am working on it the most to keep you readers happy. **

**Thank you to everyone who is reviewing. You guys are amazing. I love your insight into the story. I love it when you make suggestions and guess at what is happening next. It's so amusing to me to see where you think it's going to go and then I get to twist it all around and surprise you! heehee. So thanks so much and keep commenting. I love it!**

**So this chapter we are going to let Danny rest, I don't know when he'll be back, but for not we need to figure out how we're going to solve the case while McMahon is watching the Five-O's every move! Hope you like it!**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 7: Fracture

"If he could hear us and we could communicate with him, he was probably listening to us the whole time." Kono stated as she finally looked up and broke the silence that had fallen over the Five-O office.

"How long has this been going on?" Lori asked as she sat beside Kono on the floor.

"Who knows," Chin stated, "He may still be listening. We have other electronics here that are still functioning and how do we know he hasn't bugged the office in another way."

"We have to get out of here," Steve stated.

"And go where?" Kono asked as she stood and walked quickly to her office, grabbed a note pad out of her desk and returned to the bullpen before she continued, "all of our files are here. All the technology is here. Everything we have that could help us solve this case is here in this office." She stated as she quickly wrote something on the note pad and passed it to Steve.

Steve nodded, "what about HPD?" he asked but wrote something completely different on the paper.

"They have all the technology we need and our crime lab is there," Chin answered as he nodded to the location on the paper.

"Then it's settled. We'll start all over again from HPD." Steve stated and using hand gestures he scattered the members of his team.

5-0

One hour later with Max, Charlie and Danny's old friend 'Toast' crammed into the coroners office, Steve paced, waiting for information as Toast worked on Max's computer to crack the hacked mainframe at Five-O HQ.

"This guy is good," Toast stated with a lollipop hanging out of his face. "Its all remote access and fire walled. It's bouncing off different severs that are scattered all over the island and that are programs to scramble their feeds anytime someone gets close to them."

"So you can't pin point them?" Steve asked.

"I didn't say I couldn't," Toast retorted. "I said this guy was good. He's monitoring almost everything."

"HPD?" Steve asked impatiently.

"Yup, he's into that system. He's cracked cameras to look down on your house, Danny's apartment, Chin's and Kono's houses and he's even got a lock on your new girl's place." Toast stated. "He knows Kono, Chin and Lori are at HPD as we speak. He knows that the crime lab is still printing and running evidence from the Camaro. He knows it all."

"So what isn't he watching?" Charlie asked.

"He's got all the important players exactly where he wants them." Toast stated as his fingers flew over the keyboard. "He doesn't have audio here, but he's got all three of you tagged because of the GPS he's piggy backing from your phones." Toast explained. "He's got a handle on all of your equipment so if you want to confuse him you had better go off the grid or go way above it."

"Alright, you stay here with Charlie and Max, and see if you three geniuses can't finger something out. And hold onto this," Steve stated and placed his phone on the desk beside Toast. "I have one location I have to look into before we go off the grid."

5-0

Chin and Kono moved stealthily through the ally way that led to the back of Eli Watson's house, or rather the house of his auntie and the only address listed on the bond applications and the police reports.

"You got the front?" Kono asked into the walkie that she, Chin and Lori had all opted for over the high tech gadgets they were used to playing with.

"I'm on my way," Lori stated as the walkie line crackled.

"We're in position." Chin stated. "Calling for radio silence."

"Ten Four," Lori responded and then knocked on the screen door of the little run down house.

An older woman of Samoan decent answered the door joyfully. "Aloha," she smiled as she noticed Lori's vest and weapon.

"Hello," Lori smiled, "is Eli home?" she asked pleasantly.

"Oh no, Eli doesn't live here anymore." The woman answered. "He moved in with his girl months ago."

"Do you happen to know where that is?" Lori asked.

"Sure, it's down on Beach Street." The woman stated with a bright motherly smile.

"When was the last time you talked to Eli?" Lori asked.

"This morning." The woman answered, "Not an hour ago."

"Would you mind if I checked your house and property to be sure?" Lori asked.

"Come in, come in!"

"Entering the premise," Lori stated into her walkie; effectively ending the stealth maneuvers. "The house is clear," she added as she walked out the back door and saw her counterparts in the yard. "I have another address from the auntie."

"Alright let's go there," Chin stated and led the way back to the vehicle.

5-0

Forty minutes later Chin pulled the vehicle to a stop outside the Beach Street address and before he had even cut the engine Kono and Lori were out of the vehicle with their weapons drawn.

The screen door to the front of the house hung off its hinges and fell across the cement blocks that acted as the stairs. The driveway was empty, but there remained dirt smears where tires once were.

"Eli Watson, this is Five-O. We are coming in!" Kono stated at the front door as Lori and Chin covered her back.

Moving silently but efficiently the three Five-Os cleared the first two rooms of the house. They moved on but they came to a sudden and complete stop, all three of them. Staring at the same gruesome scene before them, Chin, Kono and Lori found it hard to breathe.

There sitting at the kitchen table, his phone at his side and a bowl of soggy cereal before him sat Eli Watson; dead. His head was bent back, his hands rested on either side of his cereal bowl but blood ran down his face from the bullet that had entered his skull right between his eyes. Plastered across his chest was Danny's bullet proof vest.

Kono's phone started to ring and instinctively, and without looking at it, she put it to her ear.

"_Run, run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!_" McMahon sang and then hung up.

5-0

Walking slowly and with his weapon already drawn, Steve stepped lightly up to the house of the mother who's son had been arrested by Five-O not a week before. The previous case has been a bloody one, all over drugs, and was cracked when the younger son had slipped up when giving a statement to Danny. The address of the mother's house hadn't made it into the police reports or onto the smart system because she was never a suspect.

Walter Kalani has worked exclusively and lived on the big island. Steve, Chin, Danny and Kono has spent much of the case tracking down the main players on the big island until the boy was killed on Oahu, then they came back and started tracking down Walter's relatives in Honolulu. It was through Jeremy that Danny picked up a slip of the tongue and a possible location that led Steve and Danny finally into a warehouse that housed the stash of cocaine that they had confiscated, effectively capturing Walter before he left the island again.

Steve knew for a fact that this location was the current dwelling of Jeremy Kalani, and Jeremy's prints were all over the Camaro and his blood had been matched to the stairwell, but his location had remained a mystery before they were interrupted by the video feed from Danny's location. Now, Steve felt that for one moment he might actually be a step ahead of McMahon.

Moving around the house as silently as he could, Steve peeked into windows, through doors and pressed his ear against the thin house walls. He was certain by the car in the driveway and the confirmation of visual that Jeremy was in the house with his mother, so without a second thought and hoping that the scum bag wouldn't run, Steve through all caution to the wind and kicked in the front door.

"Jeremy Kalani, freeze you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Detective Daniel Williams!" Steve yelled in the face of the stunned mother and shocked son.

"I didn't do anything!" Jeremy protested when he decided it was a better idea to stop in his tracks at the sight of Steve's weapon ready and aimed at his unprotected chest.

"Oh you didn't, then why was your blood found at the scene of the crime from a bullet fired from Detective William's gun?" Steve asked angrily as the mother screamed and then fell silent.

"You said that was from a boarding accident!" Mrs. Kalani yelled as she grabbed her son's right bicep and the youth winced in pain. "You go with Commander McGarrett now!" she ordered and handed the young man off, "and tell him were that Detective is or go to jail with your brother!"

"I don't know where he is!" Jeremy stated.

"I think you do!" Steve retorted and clicked the cuffs shut around Jeremy's wrists.

As Steve moved out of the house, after having called HPD from the house line, he led his suspect out toward waiting HPD cruiser that he had commandeered for this run. He pushed the young man into the back seat and moved to the front driver side door. As he did this the squealing of tires was heard, as a white car that had been coming toward them sped past at an alarming rate.

One quick glance, his weapon drawn once more, Steve caught a fleeting glimpse of the driver of the fleeing vehicle. He was sure it was McMahon.

**A/N: Today's reference comes from the nursery rhymes about the gingerbread man. I can't remember what it is officially called but at least I am acknowledging it.**


	8. Gassed

**A/N: Qweb told me she was going through withdrawals, so I've decided to post more tonight. **

**Hope everyone like the psycho that I've created. I promise I'm really not crazy or psychotic. I really don't know where these ideas come from but it's just going to get crazier from here. **

**Enjoy! **

Chapter 8: Gassed

"Where is detective Williams?" Steve yelled in the face of the young suspect as he slammed his hands down on the top of the interrogation room table.

"I don't know!" Jeremy yelled back. His left hand was handcuffed to the table leg while he nervously wiped sweat from his brow with his right hand.

"You see, I think you do!" Steve stated as he paced back toward his suspect. "I think you took the detective exactly where McMahon wanted you to. So you had better tell me where that was or, so help me God, you will go down for the murder of Eli Watson." He yelled and watched the colour and the fight leave Jeremy's face.

"You gotta help me man!" Jeremy stated after a long shocked silence.

"Why should I do that?" Steve asked as he sat down across the table from his suspect. He tented his fingers and turned on his best stare, the one he'd learned from Danny.

"Look, I didn't kill anyone but he's gonna kill me and my mom." Jeremy stated tears in his eyes.

"Where is Detective Williams?" Steve demanded calmly.

"Launani Valley," Jeremy answered.

"Gotta do better than that, it's a big valley and we already have that information."

"Look the instructions were simple; take the detective to the farm, put him in the coffin we found waiting for him, lock the doors on the container and the garage, and get the hell out of there. Do you think he's still there?" Jeremy flat out yelled.

"Where is the farm?"

"It's an industrial lot, for sale by owner; I remember the sign was old and weathered. McMahon put the address into the GPS. We never saw it. There was a large garage. Lots of heavy equipment was all around the lot but it wasn't new equipment and the coffin was inside a shipping container, unmarked, old and rusty. We put the unconscious detective in the coffin, closed the lid, locked the container door and then the garage and we left. He gave us the money he promised and that was the last dealing I had with him." Jeremy explained. "He's old acquaintances with my mom, she's seen McMahon again since the other night. He's been around our place often."

"Friend?" Steve asked.

"I think he's blackmailing her," Jeremy sighed. "She would have never asked me to get involved if he wasn't. They are not friends, my brother is a felon, and I think she's desperate. You need to help her, if she's not already dead."

"So her act today was a lie?" Steve asked.

"Yes sir, if you want to know anything substantial about McMahon, you need my mom."

5-0

In another room off in the HPD precinct Steve walked in on the gathering of his peers and the paperwork that was neatly stacked and coordinated for their case.

"Did he tell you anything?" Chin asked shortly as he spread crime scene photos out on the table.

"He said his mother is the real accomplice," Steve sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"HPD is still at the house in the event that McMahon goes back. We can have him brought in." Lori said and diverted her eyes from contact with Steve; "I'll go call it in and have her brought in today." she added and ducked out of the little room and the growing tension.

"Did he say anything about Danny?" Kono asked never raising her eyes from the table and the pictures before her.

"He said he and Eli dropped Danny off in a shipping container unconscious in some old garage in the Launani Valley," Steve answered angrily.

"Convenient, the Launani Valley, anywhere specific or are we going to guess about that too?" Chin asked sarcastically as Lori came back into the interrogation room.

"Do you think he could take us up there?" Lori asked.

"He said he didn't know where the place was, only that the address was put into the GPS by McMahon." Steve stated.

"So we have the guy, throw him in your truck, aim your weapon at this face and make him tell you turn by turn how to get out there." Chin stated, "That's your style."

Steve glared at Chin, "he doesn't think Danny is at that location anymore, and neither do I."

"I don't think he is either. The dirt from Lori's driveway was from further north-east. It was from up in the Ewa Forest Reserve." Kono said as she opened a file, coloured green, and containing paper work based around the sample. "I doubt the sample we took from Eli's will match, but we're running them to make sure."

"What else do we have?" Steve asked impatiently.

"Not much more then what you brought back," Chin grumbled, "and it doesn't sound like you got much out of your guy. Without our equipment we can't track vehicles, we can't check recognition software, so our only leads right now are the possibility that Jeremy's mom is the actual accomplice." Chin huffed.

"What's your problem?" Steve asked angrily and fed up with Chin's attitude.

"My problem?" Chin yelled loosing his cool for the first time, "my problem is that you sent the three of us off for safety sake and then you go off alone and off the grid!"

"We're all off the grid! McMahon is monitoring the grid!" Steve retorted.

"That's not the point!" Chin hissed and got right up in Steve's face, "the point is you saw McMahon at your fugitives but what's not to say he wasn't following you? We already know he wants you, he already has Danny; he took Danny! And you went off alone without back up. Do you just want to turn yourself over to him? Are you inviting him to get into this and knock each one of us off one at a time? Let me remind you of the last time you pulled this flying solo crap; I arrested you for the murder of Governor Jameson!"

"If it weren't for my tactical maneuver you wouldn't have any leads!" Steve seethed with rage but Chin wouldn't back down.

"This isn't a tactical maneuver! This is Danny's life, your life, our livelihoods!" Chin yelled. "Are you going to let this man tear us apart one at a time?"

"Am I to assume that you both feel the same way?" Steve yelled as he spun on Kono and Lori, and the girls tried to hide their faces in the paper work that was sprawled all over the little interrogation room.

"With what we know about this guy you should have at least told Max and Charlie!" Lori spoke timidly.

"With Danny trapped in a box and this guy playing us you should have taken back up," Kono added.

"If I would have waited Jeremy would be dead!" Steve yelled. "You found Eli with a bullet between the eyes. He hadn't been dead an hour according to Max. Jeremy was another loose end and I saved him!"

5-0

Jeremy sat, his head resting on the edge of the cool table when the door opened and out of the corner of his eye he could see the dark navy of a police uniform.

"Surprise sweetheart," McMahon smiled as Jeremy looked up at the uniform and then realized who was standing before him.

"How did you get in here?" Jeremy whispered. "The whole state is looking for you."

"I'm a master of disguise, an international man of mystery," McMahon laughed as he fumbled with the set of handcuffs on his belt.

"What are you doing?" Jeremy asked as McMahon walked a slow circle around him.

"What did you tell Stevie boy?" McMahon asked.

"Nothing," Jeremy stated when McMahon grabbed his free wrist and before he could register what was going on he could hear the clicking of the second set of cuffs shutting around the other table leg.

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Are you going to kill me like you killed Eli?" Jeremy asked tears in his eyes.

"Well who in their right mind told you that?" McMahon stated teasingly.

"You did it didn't you?"

"Is this room monitored?" McMahon smiled with a wicked pleasure seeping into his tone.

"It's a police station, everything is monitored." Jeremy stated.

"Then how did I get in here?" McMahon asked as he spun around and caught a look at his self in the one way mirror. "Whoa look a cop! Yikes!"

"This is a game to you?" Jeremy asked fearfully.

"Yes, yes."

"You killed Eli because it's a game and now you're going to do the same thing to me."

"You mean fire this weapon in the middle of a police precinct with Five-O hiding like mice only three doors down?" McMahon asked as he pulled the weapon from the holster at his hip and pressed the cold metal barrel in the space right between Jeremy's eyes.

Sweat droplets appeared on Jeremy's brow as his eyes crossed and he looked down the barrel of the gun.

"No, that's a bad idea." McMahon laughed and put his gun back, "besides, I'm a creative man, but I get bored easily. I don't like to reuse my methods. That's boring. I have another idea for you." he said with a wink. "And it's a really good one. Feel proud that you're getting the royal treatment."

"I'll do anything you want me to do just don't kill me."

"Anything?" McMahon asked as he raised an eyebrow and pulled a hand full of what looked like sugar packets out of one of his pockets.

"Anything!" Jeremy stated frantically.

"Alright; here's what I want you to do and you'll be free." McMahon smiled and pulled a stubby glass bottle of liquid out of another pocket with a clear plastic bag and an extra large zip tie.

The bottle was green, but from where Jeremy sat it looked like water. The label said water but he doubted that the liquid was actually what the bottle was labeled. The cap of the bottle had clearly been tampered with and Jeremy could see where the plastic seal on the bottle had been broken. He decided then and there that water was not in the stubby little bottle. The 'sugar like' packets were unlabeled and looked to be hand made. The paper was of a waxy consistency but looked thicker then regular sugar packets. Again, Jeremy drew the conclusion that it was not sure, and his stress level and panic started to grow.

"You're gonna sit here, relax a little, tell them nothing and buy me some more time to get to your mother." McMahon explained as he opened the bottle and poured in a crystalline substance that came out of the unmarked paper packets.

Before Jeremy's eyes the liquid in the bottle began to bubble enthusiastically and the hiss of the heavy gas started to seep out of the bottle opening.

"What the hell is that?" Jeremy yelled and began struggling against his restraints.

"This is just a little experiment. I'm also a chemist, did you know that?" McMahon smiled, unfurled the plastic bag and gently placed the bottle in the bag. "In this bottle I have place two very reactive chemicals. I doubt you'll have ever heard of them but they were uses pretty widely when the death penalty was popular by our justice system." McMahon explained.

Jeremy gasped.

"Now comes the fun part, the climax of the experiment. You're one and only job is to see how long you can hold your breath." McMahon stated as he pounced forward and wrapped the bag over the young man's head; securing it with the zip tie. Then he bolted for the door, shut it behind him and let the lethal combination of chemicals turn the interrogation room into a gas chamber.

Daniel McMahon then strolled down the corridor, a spring in his step as he passed the door, the window and the distressed members of Five-O. He passed them by, right under their noses, within feet of the men and women who were desperate to find him. He winked at the surveillance camera as he exited the building and just as the HPD cruiser arrived with Mrs. Kalani in the back seat.


	9. Together

**A/N: I know you've all be waiting for this; the demands have been coming in. I hope it doesn't disappoint. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Together

"Save him?" Chin yelled, "You could have lost Jeremy and yourself Steve!"

"I know what I'm doing!" Steve growled, "I've gone off on missions alone many times. It's part of the job, well my former job, and I was fine."

"Fine," Chin asked in shock, "Shall I remind you of how fine you were coming out of North Korea after Jenna?"

"Would you two stop?" Lori yelled.

"I was fine, I'm trained for this!" Steve huffed.

"So fine we had to break the law to get to you?" Chin growled, "So fine you had to go off on your own and have us worried sick. So fine that Joe lost his job backing you up? Yeah, this is so much different than that. Danny is buried alive, need I remind you, and we have nothing."

"We'll find Danny," Steve sighed, "we'll be fine."

"Yeah, fine, whatever…" Chin sighed and began pacing.

"Clearly we're not fine," Lori sighed and looked to Kono who looked about near tears, but at the same time she stared blankly at an open file. "What is it Kono, did you find something?"

"No, nothing, we have nothing." Kono sighed. "Look at us fighting each other, accusing each other, the only thing we do have is each other and we've lost that."

Silence fell in the small space. No one looked at anyone. No one spoke, but everything crumbled as people rushed around in the hallway.

"What is going on out there?" Chin huffed as he walked out of the interrogation room.

"Evacuation," Duke stated as Chin opened the door, "you gotta get out of here; right now!" he added as he covered his face with a medical mask and handed extras to Chin.

Kono and Lori moved quickly and gathered all their files as Steve pushed past Chin into the hallway and Chin followed him. They rushed forward, toward where their suspect was being held, but they were stopped by more masks and more officers.

"You can't go in there!" Another officer wearing a gas mask stated as he stood between Steve and Chin, and the door.

"Our suspect is in there!" Chin yelled.

"You're suspect is dead." The officer informed them, "and you will be too if you go in there."

"What happened?" Steve asked.

"Let's just say someone decided to bring back the death penalty." The officer answered.

"McMahon," Steve and Chin stated at exactly the same time. They were stopped dead in their tracks by an army of officers evacuating the building and were hauled out of the precinct with the scores of other officers, suspects, witnesses and personnel that were caught in the cross hairs of the incident.

The whole building, from roof to cellar, was put into lock down while precautions were taken to halt the spread of the contaminating agent. Any and all rooms that may or may not have been linked with the chemicals used in the interrogation room were slated for full and total decontamination and a special team of officers from the CDC were called in for their expertise in the decontamination process.

"What is going on?" Lori yelled as Chin and Steve finally made it outside and to safety.

Kono's phone rang.

"Looks like I got you all out of the building; smoked the rat's right out of their holes." McMahon taunted as the four listened, "I sure hope you weren't fighting over little old me. You looked so distressed all huddled together and yet at each others throats."

"Where are you, you son of a bitch?" Steve stated as he spun around looking in every direction and clutching his weapon. All he could see all around him was chaos and panic.

"I'm long gone, but you'll find me on all the cameras. It would seem that all of Hawaii's finest are slacking. I walked right in the front door, even stopped to tip my hat at the pretty little blond college student running the switchboard. Hawaii really does have the most beautiful people." McMahon was playful in his chit chat. "So where are you going to scurry off to now? Don't think I won't find you. I'm like a cockroach, very pesky and hard to get rid of."

"Hang up!" Steve ordered and eyed Kono's phone with distain.

Kono did as she was told and handed her phone to Steve.

"Alright, we're done here. If he's going to monitor us, we may as well do it where we are comfortable." Steve stated and walked across the lot toward the assembly of cruisers. "Where is my suspect?" Steve demanded of the gathering of officers and the chief of police who had finally arrived on the scene.

"He's dead," Duke stated.

"I mean his mother," Steve said and handed Kono's phone to Duke.

"What am I going to do with this?" Duke asked.

"Smash it!" Kono stated.

"Where is our suspect?" Chin asked echoing Steve and wanting to get away from the chaos and the cameras that had now appeared on the scene.

"She's in that cruiser," Duke stated and motioned over his shoulder.

Steve marched off toward the car and looked in at the older woman that sat quietly by herself.

"Your son is dead," Steve stated and watched the woman's face twist in pain, "McMahon killed him."

"I want to see him," She sobbed.

"You can't, he's contaminating the whole precinct. Do you have a phone or any other electronic device on you?" Steve asked and grabbed the woman by the cuffs and dragged her out of the car.

"You're hurting me!" she cried out loud to get the attention of some of the other officers around her.

"And you lied to me and now your son is dead and you'll be next if you don't do exactly what I say," Steve said seething with anger. "These people aren't going to help you. They have their own problems to worry about now."

The woman stopped struggling and watched Steve with every ounce she could give. Her whole persona changed and he nodded to the officers that had been guarding her, and then he began to drag her off toward the awaiting Marquis.

"Everybody in, get cozy, this is going to be fast paced!" Steve stated and shoved Mrs. Kalani into the back seat and Kono and Chin piled in with her.

"Search her Kono, Chin do not take your eyes off her." Steve ordered as he fell into the driver's seat and Lori slammed the passenger side door.

As the Marquis pulled out of the parking lot Kono started her search of the old woman. Chin sat right behind Steve, his gun constantly trained on the woman with Lori backing him up as she rested her weapon on the back of the seat.

"I ain't got nothing on me!" Mrs. Kalani practically yelled as Kono patted down every inch of the woman's clothing and the old woman got more and more agitated.

"Hold still!" Kono ordered and then stopped abruptly, "we have a cell phone!" Kono stated as she reached up Kalani's skirt and pulled the phone out that was taped to her inner thigh.

"Toss it!" Steve ordered as he took sharp turn and headed back the same way he had come, driving the car very fast, without any safety light, but parting the traffic all the same.

"What else are you hiding?" Kono demanded as she grabbed the woman by the front of her blouse. "I swear to God lady, I will cavity search you right here, right now, in the back of this car with all these people watching."

"There is a tracking bug in my bra." Kalani growled as she made eye contact with Kono.

Kono unfastened the woman's cuffs long enough for Kalani to remove the piece of clothing and hand it over. Kono flung the garment out the window while Chin refastened the hand cuffs and Steve changed the car's direction once again.

"Is that all?" Kono asked.

"Yes."

"He didn't make you swallow anything?" Steve asked as he hammered down on the accelerator again and the engine of the old vehicle rumbled with power.

"No," the woman hissed.

"Alright we need a secured location." Steve sighed, "Hang on everyone," he added and drifted the beast of a car around another corner and then hammered on the gas again.

"We need to regroup." Kono added as she passed the files forward to the front seat and Lori who had more room.

"We need to get to our friends," Steve stated and changed his direction again.

"Where are we going?" Lori asked never taking her eyes off Kalani but storing the files safely between Steve and herself.

"Back to Max and Charlie," Steve answered and continued to drive as fast as he could with Danny's voice ringing in his ears telling him he needed to slow down.


	10. Sailor

**A/B: Because so many people wanted to desperately know how I was going to bring the team back together, I've decided to give another update so soon after the previous one. I hope this satisfies the need. More to come very soon! Thank you everyone for commenting and keep them coming! It's been so entertaining to read all the comments on McMahon!**

Chapter 10: Sailor

Back in Max's lab with Steve's cell disassembled and Toast staring at computer codes that flew across the screen at him, Kono and Lori spread out their files as Chin, Steve and Max secured their suspect in the empty autopsy bay.

"The only way in or out of here is through this office, right Max?" Steve asked.

"Well no," Max sighed, "The bodies very rarely pass through my office. They arrived via the service elevator and are loaded into the large cooling unit that is shared by all of the medical examiners in this lab. But the freezer locked from this side so there is really no way to get into this room unless you come in through my office." Max explained.

"So the suspect is secure in here?" Steve asked and motioned to the lady they had zip tied to the heaviest piece of equipment in the room.

"I assure you that she is. You can keep and eye on her from my office, but she should be completely secure." Max confirmed.

"Alright we need to think." Steve stated as he, Max and Chin exited the autopsy bay and locked the door behind them. "How are we going to find this guy?" he asked the group as he came out and looked around at the familiar, yet unfamiliar, space and the eyes of all his coworkers and friends.

"He's good, man." Toast stated as he stared at his computer scene and typed all while carrying on a conversation.

"But you're better right?" Steve asked.

"I managed to get you all of the surveillance from the police precinct even while their experts are trying to figure out how someone was able to hack their system in the first place. It's not that hard you morons!" Toast yelled at his computer screen and the images of frantic officers and the decontamination crews played out right before his eyes.

"Toast, what did you find?" Steve interrupted the young man's entertainment and handed the tweaked out hacker another lollipop.

"This," Toast stated, with his mouth full, as he rewound the video and played back the whole video, from several different cameras, of McMahon's confrontation with Jeremy.

"If he can get into HPD, who's to say he wont get in here?" Kono sighed as all four Five-Os turned to check on their suspect.

She was still zip tied to the heavy iron wash basin.

"We aren't going to stay here for very long. We only need a plan of attack and then we're going to move on and keep covering our tracks." Steve explained.

"But where are we going to go?" Lori asked.

"Where ever we can," Chin stated, "we have to keep moving."

"Ok we need a plan. We know Danny is buried. We know he's somewhere up in Ewa and we know that McMahon has access to almost everything, and he's an evil genius. Where is our loop hole? How are we going to get ahead of this guy?" Steve asked as he began to pace the length of Max's office.

Silence fell again as everyone racked their brains. Charlie and Max scanned the files to give a new perspective on the evidence that was piling up, and yet, that still didn't make any sense to anyone. There had to be something in all of the clues and the folly that McMahon had put them through.

"Wait, why would Danny call you Sailor?" Kono asked.

"He wouldn't," Steve sighed, "he'd purposely call me soldier to get me riled up; like he doesn't know the difference between the army and the navy."

"But he _did_ call you Sailor. When he was telling you to not play McMahon's games, he gave you a direct order and ended it with _Sailor._"

"How is that relevant?" Lori asked, "Nothing we have so far has led us anywhere near the sea."

"Not the sea, the navy!" Steve stated, "Toast, can you hack the naval intelligence databases?" Steve asked.

"Are you kidding, I don't want the black opps helicopters coming after me! You would have to be a moron and truly loco to actually think you could get past all their security and not get caught!" Toast stated as he threw his arms up, "don't even ask me to try, I have a record. I'd be shot on the spot!"

"The monitors on the military software are so sensitive that even if someone logs onto the public sites we know about it," Steve smirked. "McMahon would be a fool to even attempt getting his hands on that kind of access and there are no back doors."

"But you can," Chin stated.

"Not just naval intelligence, they have all kinds of sonar and radar." Kono stated. "Danny was cluing you in without actually coming out and telling you to get your girlfriend on the line."

"Danny, you are brilliant!" Chin stated and rushed around to look at Toast's computer screen, "every electronic device needs some kind of power, or puts off some kind of a traceable signal. McMahon knows this and to keep us guessing he's got more signals then we can clear, but Catherine and your buddies at Naval Intelligence should be able to pin point the location where Danny is buried by the number of signals that are being given off by the electronics that are monitoring him."

"Whoa you are talking so far out of my realm that we're in orbit!" Toast stated as he pulled his eyes away from the computer screen and looked at Chin.

"Exactly, above and beyond the grid!" Steve smirked.

"But you can't call, he's monitoring your phone and you'd give everything away if you did try to call anyone," Max stated frantically.

"I don't need to call; I can just go to the base." Steve smiled. "I have a plan." He added and everyone stopped to stare. "Chin, you and I, and our suspect, are going to visit some of my old friends and find us a secured location for our interrogation." Steve explained. "Kono, you, Lori, Max and Toast are heading back to HQ. Toast, I want you to see if you can't jail break our hostage system. If you can't be on the grid we'll go above and below it."

"Why am I going?" Max asked in confusion.

"Because _Warp 9_ isn't a police vehicle, so therefore, it's not on the grid." Steve stated.

"That's very true commander!" Max smiled.

"Drive that car like you've never driven it before," Steve smiled.

"No Max, do not take driving advice from Steve!" Chin and Kono stated together.

"Alright, that's enough, my driving isn't that bad!" Steve stated, "Let's do this." He added and just as quickly as the idea had hit, the troops were mobilized.


	11. Intelligence

**A/N: Well, here is another update, the last for my break…I'm sad…but at the same time I did get a lot done, knocked off three other stories that weren't five-O so now I can put all my effort into this story and my other Five-Os. I'm kinda excited about that because this is where my muse is pretty much constantly and I really struggled to get the other stories done. **

**Anyway, enjoy the Five-O awesomeness and I'll catch you in a few days. Leave comments if you can, I love to read them! Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 11: Intelligence

Before Charlie knew what was happening Steve slammed his secondary weapon into the lab tech's hands. "You know how to use that right?" Steve asked before he rushed into the autopsy bay with Chin.

"Yes, we have to take the firearms test every year but why do I need it now?" Charlie asked.

"Because you are coming with Chin and I. All you have to do is aim that gun at our suspect at all times." Steve explained.

"But why, what is she going to do?" Charlie asked.

"So that Chin has back up while I'm driving and to make sure you're safe because now that we have gotten you involved you may be targeted and we can't guarantee that she's not still wired with some electronic device that we can't see. Not to mention, with what McMahon is capable of, we are treating her as extremely high risk." Steve explained.

"Alright, but just wait one second." Charlie stated and rushed across Max's office to a pile of his belongings, including his field jacket and his kit.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked as he watched to lab tech with interest.

"A gun is great and all, but a vest will offer me more protection and I just happen to have my field supplies here, including my HPD issued vest." Charlie explained as he untangled the bullet proof vest from his jacket and quickly fastened it to his torso.

"It's better to be prepared for anything," Charlie added and then adjusted his grip on the weapon and leveled his sight, "Ok, I'm ready now, proceed."

5-0

Back at HQ Kono, Max and Lori got Toast set up and prepared for his rescue mission.

The drive over was fairly uneventful, though Kono was sure that Max's driving had become erratic since he obtained the faster vehicle, or perhaps he had taken Steve's words to heart.

"You've been holding out on me!" Toast stated upon entering HQ and laying eyes on the smart system "this is some modern set up you have here." He stated and ran a hand along the top of the table.

"The problem is it's been hijacked." Kono sighed.

"We need you to save it," Lori added, "but if we turn it on he'll know that we're back here." She added.

"Oh you poor baby," Toast sighed emphatically as he stroked the smart computer lovingly, "don't worry, I'm here now. Everything will be ok." He whispered.

Kono and Lori rolled their eyes.

"What should I do?" Max asked as he continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway.

"You doctor are going to help me." Toast stated and pulled his lap top, his phone and a tangle of wires out of his satchel, along with a new lollipop.

"What are you going to do?" Kono asked.

"Surgery," Toast winked. "This thing is blue tooth accessible right?"

"Of course!" Lori stated.

"Good."

"What should we do?" Kono asked.

"You two are the ones with the guns; stand guard," Toast stated, "and leave the rest to Max and me."

5-0

Steve marched, literally, with Mrs. Kalani right next to him and Charlie and Chin walked quickly behind him. The drive to the base had been uneventful, aside for the speed at which Steve propelled the vehicle through the streets of Honolulu. Finally they arrived at the base and, stopping only briefly at the human resources office, and Steve and his crew were told to proceed.

"In here," Steve ordered as two lower ranking officers opened a solid steal cell door.

Steve shoved the suspect into the room and the door was slammed behind her. "Do not, I repeat, do not let anyone but myself, Lieutenant Kelly or Doctor Fong into that room." Steve ordered.

"Yes sir!" the two officers saluted and Steve motioned for his men to follow.

"That should hold her," Steve stated as he continued down the hall.

Steve walked on, his features cold as stone as his friends followed silently.

"I've already contacted the admiral!" Commanding officer Wade Gutches stated as he came barreling down the hallway toward Steve.

"Is he willing to help us?" Steve asked.

"Well have to wait and see," Wade stated and fell in next to Steve, "I would assume we owe you a few favors, especially with everything that Five-O has done for Hawaii."

5-0

"There you are!" Toast stated as he worked frantically with his rats nest of cables and those that were neatly tucked and tied under the smart table. "Anything yet Max?" he asked as he peeked out from under the table.

"You've got the Five-O desk top up on your computer," Max stated.

"Bingo!" Toast smiled, "now for my beautiful bug; do me proud little lady." He added, kissed the small device that he had made and attached it to the underside of the table.

"Wait, what, you can't bug the system!" Kono stated taking her attention off guarding the door and focusing on Toast.

"Without my carefully designed worm, you'll never break this guy's hold. It's going to match his frequencies so he thinks he's monitoring you or that the system is down but really I'll have remote access to your files and he wont see a thing, effectively hijacking his program and making it our Trojan horse, or bunny, if you prefer."

"Like our whole case that was taken over when we had to shut down, you can save that?" Lori asked.

"Yes and you'll have control over it again." Toast answered.

"Send in the worm," Kono ordered.

"Whatever you demand Officer Kalakaua!" Toast smiled and released his virtual drugs into the infected system.

5-0

"Commander McGarrett, give me the run down!" Admiral Winchester stated as Steve, Commander Gutches, and Chin and Charlie marched into the war room.

"Daniel McMahon is a threat to national security sir." Steve stated.

"We already have his records up." Winchester stated and motioned to the computers digital displays.

"He has one of my men buried alive. He just completely incapacitated a whole precinct of the Honolulu police department by hacking their computers and walking right in under their noses to use deadly chemicals to kill a suspect and he's effectively forced me off the grid by hacking all the electronic devices associated with Five-O." Steve explained. "We believe that he wants access to me because he thinks I can move him out of the U.S."

"Sounds like quite the predicament." Winchester stated as the men under his command listened to Steve and patched his information through to other locations. "Officer Rollins are you live?" the admiral asked to the room.

"Yes sir." Catherine's voice was heard over the speakers.

"Did you catch the run down from Commander McGarrett?"

"Ay," Catherine answered, "Who is your victim Commander McGarrett?" she asked.

"He's got Danny," Steve said and it was all he could get out.

Catherine gasped and then there were files and information on Daniel Williams that appeared all around the room on the displays.

"What do you need?" Catherine asked.

"We believe that Detective Williams is somewhere buried up in the Ewa forest reserve," Chin explained to the room when Steve gave him a pleading glance and Chin read the worry in his face. "We know that Danny is being monitored by some form of electronics," Chin continued, "but we can't get a lock on a signal because we can't use our equipment either and our hackers can't decode the signals."

"Are you sure Danny is alive?" Catherine asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Steve's voice boomed in reply.

"We were given proof of life early this morning before we cut power and fell off the grid," Chin explained. "McMahon was broadcasting a live feed between us, Danny and himself. We could see and hear Danny. He could hear us and we could hear McMahon."

Another image of the island of Oahu popped up on the screens.

"This is a satellite map of all the electronic signals on the island. It will take a while but we should be able to clear out all the unnecessary noise and put you right on top of your dig site, with a little finagling. Now, the problem will be if he's in an area with a lot of stuff coming at us."

"When we have the images of Ewa we'll put our sonar and satellite imaging on the spot and see if we can't see what is just below the surface," A voice from somewhere in the room interrupted.

"Good call Sailor," Admiral Winchester stated to one of his subordinates.

"Thank you admiral," Steve stated and saluted the high ranking officer.

"Whatever we can do to keep the islands safe, we'll do," Admiral Winchester smiled, "you're doing a great thing for the state of Hawaii. Thank you for your service Sailor."

Steve nodded.

"Take this, we'll need contact and I know you don't have a phone right now." Winchester added and handed Steve a satellite phone, "we'll be in touch."

"We'll find Danny, McGarrett!" Catherine's voice was heard just before Steve, Chin and Charlie turned to leave. It was finally time to interrogate Mrs. Kalani.

**A/N: Did you catch Toast's Monty Python reference? Also Admiral Winchester is a reused character from one of my other stories.**


	12. Interrogation

**A/N: Hello everyone, I hope to not have as many issues with FF. with this update as I did with the last one. Anyway, thanks to everyone who told me things weren't working and thanks to those of you that did read the chapter and comment. It was much appreciated. Also, to those of you that didn't get any alerts or who are just now finding out that I posted chapter 11 earlier this week…I'm so sorry!**

**Anyhow, in this chapter everyone gets to go inside Mrs. Kalani's head. I for one think she's pretty great (from a character point of view) some of you may feel differently and I'm totally ok with that. I hope everyone finds her entertaining and super creepy!**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 12: Interrogation

"What is that sound?" Kono asked as she heard and unfamiliar ringing coming from off somewhere in the office.

"Sounds like a phone," Max stated.

"Our phones are all off, or smashed, or unplugged." Lori sighed. "Is it the system Toast?" she asked as the man continued to monitor his lap top as Lori and Kono worked from the smart system.

"Nope, nothing from here," Toast answered as his fingers flew over his keyboard.

"It's coming from in here," Max stated as he opened the door to McGarrett's office and the ringing grew louder but it wasn't Steve's office phone.

Leaving the smart computer, Kono and Lori did a quick sweep of McGarrett's office and soon found, stashed in one of his cabinets, an always charged but rarely used satellite phone.

"Should we answer it?" Lori asked.

"It's navy issue...could he possibly have hacked that?" Kono asked and grabbed the phone, "hello?" she answered nervously.

"Kono its Steve," Steve's voice came loud and clear. "Keep the satellite phone on, we're going into interrogations with Kalani and we want you and Lori to hear everything." Steve stated.

"Alright boss, but before you go in we have news!" Kono stated as she and Lori rushed back to the smart table.

"About Danny?" Steve asked hopefully.

"No, Toast got us back into our databases. We have new information on Gloria Kalani, formerly Gloria Parkes and Gloria Smith, but before any of her three marriages and the subsequent felonies, she was Gladys Marie McMahon." Kono stated. "She's his younger sister!"

"What?" Steve exclaimed.

"Younger by like ten and a half minutes," Lori added, "They are fraternal twins, and Mrs. Kalani has had some work done. We're talking facial reconstruction."

"She's wanted in three states for fraud, theft over $500,000, and there is even an accessory to murder charge that was dropped." Kono said as she stood close to Lori to hear and speak into the phone.

"You have got to be kidding," the girls heard Chin's voice come from somewhere far away as Steve repeated everything he heard from the girls.

"Good job!" Steve stated. "Keep looking, find me anything you can connecting Gladys with Danny."

5-0

Gloria Kalani sat in the dark of the naval base cell. The room was tiny, maybe four feet by four feet and all that it was, was a dark claustrophobic room with nothing more than a drain in the middle of the floor.

The door flew open, blinding her with light from the hallway as three men crowded in and suddenly a bank of two terrible florescent lights flashed on as the door slammed behind them.

"You know you're going to jail don't you Gladys." Steve hissed as Chin held the satellite phone out in front of him and Charlie hung back by the door with the gun ever in his hands.

Mrs. Kalani's eyes grew wide, "how did you find out?" she gasped.

"We're that good," Steve said flatly.

The woman's eyes flashed in anger.

"What can you tell us about your brother Daniel?"

"That he's out for blood," Gladys spat.

"Yeah we know that, we got that when he killed his own nephew!" Chin stated.

"The boys never knew about my family." Gladys sighed, "I was always trying to hide it. I wanted to start over."

"Yeah well you screwed that up. Now on top of all your previous charges we are going to make sure you are an accomplice to murder, for good this time. The murder of you own son Jeremy."

"I didn't kill my son!"

"You just handed him over to me, while wearing a wire and probably tipping off your brother that I had Jeremy the moment I showed up, effectively giving you brother exactly what he needed to kill your son."

"Sounds like you were his right hand in the murder," Chin stated.

"I didn't know he was going to kill him!" Gladys yelled and began sobbing.

"Cut the crap, you knew damn well." Chin rolled his eyes as like a light switch being hit, Gladys stopped crying.

"No jury will believe that you didn't kill your son, not with your history and his. How many other people have you helped your brother kill?" Steve yelled in the woman's face.

"I didn't kill anyone!"

"What about Detective Williams? Are you prepared to be a cop killer as well?" Steve asked angrily.

"The detective isn't dead!"

"But he will be because you and your brother took him up to Ewa and buried him alive!" Steve yelled balling his fists and holding back with all his might.

"He has enough oxygen to keep him alive for days."

"And what about food, water and sanitary living conditions?" Steve asked, "You are just as psychotic as your bother!"

"Detective Williams isn't the real target!" Gladys stated with a wave of her hand.

"Who is?" Steve asked seething with anger.

"You are!"

"Why?"

"Because if Daniel can hand you over to Wo Fat, the man he's been working for all his life, then he'll disappear and so will I. We'll find new lives in a place where the U.S. can't touch us. You are payment for safe passage out of this country." Gladys said and twiddled her thumbs before her.

"Listen to me, you are going to tell me where Detective Williams is and then you are going to jail, but maybe, just maybe, we'll make sure you end up safe from the man who wants me because I can guarantee that you and your brother will fail, and then he'll be after you to kill you." Steve stated after the initial shock of hearing Wo Fat's name wore off, "you'd be better off in a prison back in New Jersey where his power may not be as far reaching."

"You seem to know a lot already," Gladys sighed mockingly, "I think I'll take my changes with Wo Fat and you shouldn't be so cocky when it come to my brother. He's an evil genius, a mastermind and probably the most creative person you will ever come across. He is one in a million and therefore it will take another diamond in the rough to catch him. He'll kill you before he give up no matter what Wo Fat is offering."

"That may be the case but your brother is a threat to national security and, as a concerned citizen knowing my place, I've gone above his reach and now the navy is involved and every international port that calls the U.S allies. You and your brother will be back in federal prison before you know it.

"What makes you think I'd be safe even in Jersey? You don't even know the reach of Wo Fat's power. How do you think Daniel got out in the first place? Why do you think Detective Williams was targeted? Wo Fat knows the connection and played to it. The only thing he's unaware of is just how much fun this is for my brother. Detective Williams was always very fascinating to Daniel because he could keep up intellectually. He's smarter than he looks and even though he may not be as quick or naturally gifted as my brother, he'd got the mind to figure things out." Gladys explained, "I can guarantee that the detective isn't dead. As much as you think my brother is a cold blooded killer, and he is, but he has a respect for a brilliant mind. He just can't stand useless people and Daniel Williams has a mind worth keeping. My brother respects Detective Williams. He won't kill him."

"So what is his plan?" Steve asked.

"His plans are ever evolving. It's never the same from one minute to the next. The ultimate goal is to get you to Wo Fat. After that he'll give up the detective to the team or he'll have them killed if they don't prove that their minds are worth saving. Its just survival of the fittest, those with only the most developed minds will live in Daniel McMahon's perfect world." Gladys explained.

"I have the best team on the island," Steve hissed.

"And Daniel is testing that theory," Gladys smirked. "It's all an experiment to him."

"And what about the children?" Chin asked with disgust. "McMahon is a sick sadistic pedophile. When he's done with Steve where will he go from there?"

"The children are his obsession, his most intimate desires. Nothing in the whole is interesting to Daniel unless there is a puzzle. Adults they are useless unless they have a highly trained mind, it is like they digress evolutionarily as they age and revert back to their primal instincts; eat, sleep, procreate. They move through the world, once they plateau at a certain age and then it's all down hill from there. Children are what he hungers for, he lusts for, at the end of the day the only thing that will trump a puzzle is a beautiful children, male or female, he doesn't care. Children's minds are fresh and new, to be worked on and trained. A child has all the potential in the world and that perfect young moldable grey matter is what the big turn-on is for my brother. Did you know some ancient societies believed by consuming the brains of the smartest members of the tribe the other members would gain the knowledge of the universe?"

"Are you trying to tell me, after all the terrible things your brother does to the children, he eats their brains?" Steve asked.

"He was never charged of such acts of cannibalism," Gladys stated, "but your assumption wouldn't be incorrect. Daniel believes that the young brain will help him to gain _more_ knowledge."

"He's sick!" Charlie spat feeling physically ill from the conversation alone.

"Why do you think I kept my children away from him and him from them? He didn't know about my boys until he was safely behind bars thanks to Detective Williams." Gladys shrugged. "I suppose that's why Jeremy is dead now. He never knew him as a child and therefore would never have been able to teach him how to be a brilliant man. Jeremy was a smart man, the spitting image of his uncle, but Daniel never knew that."

An awkward silence well as the severity and the horrific images burned their way into the minds of the three men hovering around Gladys McMahon.

"Tell me where Danny is!" Steve demanded feeling like he needed to get away from the poison that was the McMahon bloodline.

"You don't know?" She asked with a twisted smirk, "he's in a box, in that box is an atom that is nearing the end of its life cycle. When the atom dies it will release a poison. Until you open that box you'll never know if your cat is alive or dead."

"Schrodinger was your idea," Steve gasped.

"It was a mutual conclusion achieved by two great minds," Gladys smirked. "And, after this conversation, I would say the flame really is burning out. Go on Adam, before your energy is gone and that poison is released."

Steve caught the meaning. "Five-O will not deteriorate under your brother's pressure; now tell me where Detective Williams is buried."

"_God said Joe people really need to know that bible isn't two parts. There's a part three to the bible Joe, and I God have anointed you to dig up this part three that is buried by a tree on a hill in your back yard_." Gladys smiled sounding like her brother and quoting the _Book of Mormon_. "And _you,_ Joe, have a very big back yard. You'd better start digging or you'll never find the truth." She smirked as she pointed at Steve, and hummed to her self.

"Tell me or don't, I will find him." Steve spat and motioned for Chin and Charlie to leave the room, "you'll be staying in the custody of the U.S Navy, here, until your brother is apprehended." Steve said over his shoulder just before the lights were cut and the door was shut again.

The three men stood silently in the hall for a long moment as a communal chill ran down all three of their backs.

**A/N: Yes, to hammer home the Schrodinger principle I just had to restate it once again. Meow!**

**And if you haven't heard of the musical, The Book of Mormon, and you are a fan of theatre and aren't easily offended, I suggest you look it up because it's hilarious!**

**Lastly, I did have a very Hannibal Lector moment in this chapter with the brains bit. That is one of my favorite parts of that whole book series… does that make me a psychopath?**


	13. Signals

**A/N: Hello Everyone! Happy Sunday! Yeah I know I'm way too excited about Sunday… sorry.**

**I need to send out a huge I'M SORRY to Qweb, I told her one thing about this story and it turns out I lied…so I'm sorry. I can't tell you what I lied about because that would give away the whole chapters but know that I lied and I feel terrible.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I now have to get back to writing 'cause my back log of written stuff has now run out… sorry.**

Chapter 13: Signals

"Did you catch all that?" Steve asked as he took the satellite phone from Chin and pressed it to his ear.

"Who are these people," Lori stated, "they are sick."

"Why didn't we think Wo Fat was involved, this has his name written all over it," Kono sighed.

"Why would we think that?" Steve asked, "It's a good cover. We're more worried about this psychopath; we're blinded to the real people that want us out of the way."

"So what do we do now?" Kono asked.

"We're coming back to you," Steve stated as he and his colleagues left the small cell, "I'm leaving McMahon's sister locked up on the base I hope she's safe there. Keep this line clear; we're waiting on Catherine and the big wigs in naval intelligence to get us a location on Danny."

"Toast has nearly restored everything here," Kono said enthusiastically.

"Good, I want to try and send McMahon on the wrong path, but I need to talk to Danny." Steve said as he left Commander Gutches at the gates to the base, "We're on our way now."

"Be careful!" Kono stated and the line went dead.

5-0

Without an incident Steve, Chin and Charlie made it back to HQ to find everyone huddled around the smart computer.

"Is he all right?" Steve asked as he quickly stepped toward the smart center.

"We don't know. We haven't accessed that yet," Lori stated.

"I've coded that bug into a cage, now I'm trying to reestablish the link without giving up the access we've gained." Toast explained.

"How long are we looking at?" Steve asked with a sigh.

"Not long," Toast stated calmly as his fingers moved quickly, "I'm also going to try and bug his system to see if I can gain some access or control over what is keeping Danny alive. I have a feeling its all part of the same master computer and hopefully I'll be able to single that out and become the master controlling the puppets."

"Good thinking," Steve said, "What could happen if we find out where Danny is and McMahon decides to pull the plug before we can get him out?"

"That is why I'm trying to remotely access the system." Toast stated. "So that I can turn it all back on and avoid the self destruct mechanism."

"You think there is a self destruct?" Kono asked in shock.

"Isn't there always a self destruct?" Toast asked indignantly. "If there weren't would it be the most popular plot in the movies? I think not, sheesh, there has to be a back up plan and usually that's a self destruct."

"Alright, in the event we can't avoid self destruct what do we do?" Chin asked.

"We need a plan once we know where we're going," Lori sighed, "so that we can get Danny out of the ground as fast as possible."

"I'm on it," Steve stated as he switched phones with Kono, "if that rings its going to be Admiral Winchester or Catherine. Either way, it will be important." He added and rushed toward his office. "Get me access to Danny!" he demanded and then shut the door behind him.

5-0

"I'm going live," Toast stated as he peeked his head into Steve's office.

Steve dropped the satellite phone and rushed after the resident hacker.

"Have you cracked the user codes yet?" Steve asked as the whole team stood around the smart table.

"Not quite," Toast answered, "but I'm still working on it."

"Alright," Steve sighed.

"Look boss, we'll leave you alone in the event that McMahon is listening. We don't want to give anything away." Kono said and waved the second satellite phone before his face.

"Good call Kono. I need to talk to Danny, and I'd prefer it be alone." Steve smiled. "You can stay," he said as he looked to Toast who was still working at his lap top and not paying attention to much of anything else.

"I should hope so, I can't unhook my lap top from the system if you want access to all this stuff," Toast stated. "I'm kinda the puppet master here."

"Yeah I get that."

Kono, Chin, Lori and the lab boys walked off to different offices around HQ while Toast made the last few connections and all the monitors went black and slowly brought into focus the image of Danny as they had last seen him.

"Whoa, wasn't expecting that," Toast stated in shock at the sight of Danny in the coffin, and then he was hushed just as promptly by Steve.

Danny jumped at the sounds but settled himself down again when silence continued.

"Danno, how are you feeling?" Steve asked when Toast gave him the thumbs up that they were indeed _live_.

"I thought I told you to turn this off!" Came Danny's reply, "how long have you been watching me do nothing when you could have been out trying to figure out how to get me the hell outta here," Danny's voice became louder and more frantic with every word until he reached full on panic.

"Danny breathe!" Steve stated laying his hands flat on the smart table as if willing the contact between them, "you look like you are going to have an aneurism, and that's my look. You need to calm down. We're working as hard as we can to get you outta there. Just hang in there. I promise I'll get you out."

"Do you have any leads?" Danny asked and Steve watched as Danny ran both hands awkwardly down the sides of his face, taking deep breaths, but his whole body shook.

"It's slow going. We don't have access to anything. He's hijacked our computers, killed the witnesses and accomplices and completely contaminated HPD by turning an interrogation room into a gas chamber." Steve explained trying to keep his cool and not give away anything of McMahon was listening.

"You have to use your head with this guy," Danny said finally calm enough to think out loud, "find out what he really wants and exploit that."

"He wants me," Steve stated.

"What, why?" Danny asked.

"I guess for safe passage off the island." Steve answered racking his brain for a way to tell Danny the truth without him knowing, "he's got everything under his control. How he did it all, how he planned it and obtained everything he's used is a real mystery. He's as slippery as our biggest fish and in with all the same outs we've ever had."

Danny caught the hint, "then maybe you need a bigger net." Danny stated.

"The nets are out. I don't know what else to do Danno. We're trapped, dead in the water!"

"Well hello boys!" McMahon's voice boomed suddenly, "Sorry to interrupt, but it would have been polite to invite me to join in this little powwow! Hope you aren't having girl time and sharing secrets without me."

"What do you want, McMahon?" Steve growled.

"Oh Stevie, you know what I want, deep down, I just want '_lots of chocolate for me to eat and lots of coal making lots of heat_' like any other girl." McMahon sang mockingly.

"That would be lovely," Steve sighed sarcastically.

"I knew you had to have something ticking away in that brain of yours. So travel a lot in that old marquis of yours, she's a beauty, why didn't you share that with all your friends at HPD?"

"She stays safe and sound most of the time in the garage at home. She was my dad's baby. I respect her and I don't like to take her out or share her with anyone," Steve answered.

"She also doesn't make it more than nine miles at a time," Danny retorted trying to get McMahon off the scent of the old, yet stealthy vehicle.

"I fixed that issue Daniel," Steve stated playing along.

"Well, well, well, my assumptions were correct. Daniel why would you lie to me? How long have you two been the happy couple? The least you could have done was send an invite. I'd have sent you a lovely fondue pot as a wedding gift!"

"Danny he knows all of our secrets," Steve sighed sarcastically.

"Oh Daniel, I think he misses you. His heart is breaking. I think it sounds like your partner is about ready to give me everything I want to get you back. He loves you. Isn't that sweet, you bagged a handsome one you did! My goodness, my heart is all a flutter, and you know how much I like reunions."

"There are never any reunions with you," Danny stated. "You would rather see a person dead then any happy reunions because you hate the emotional attachments of mankind."

"True, I am dark that way; I think emotions cloud people's judgement. You're brain could solve all the mysteries of the universe if your emotions didn't get in the way."

"Says the man with the worst temper I've ever known." Danny mocked.

"Alas, even I can fall subject to those pesky emotions now and again, but I had planned to take anger management classes in prison and then the opportunity for freedom presented itself and I liked that idea better."

"That's very non-committal of you;" Danny said skeptically, "you like to see things through to the very end, has prison made you soft?"

"It's true, so very, very true, you know me so well Daniel." McMahon chuckled, "I tell you what, when I'm finished with you and your beautiful husband Stevie Boy, I'll take a class."

"I'll make sure everything is arranged for you at Halawa, it's the least I can do," Steve said interrupting the flow of the conversation.

"Oh Stevie, I'd thought you'd left!" McMahon stated pleasantly, "what is Halawa, you have me intrigued."

"It's the federal prison here in Oahu," Danny answered.

"Daniel, that's rude, I was talking to Steve," McMahon scolded. "I apologize for Daniel's rudeness Steven."

"It's alright."

"But, alas, I don't think I'd like to go to Halawa…that is unless there are spectacular views."

"Sorry, no views…"

"Shame, Stevie, I'm enjoying a spectacular view right now."

"I'm sure you are."

"So how close are you really? I know you've decided to go off the grid so I can't follow you in the Marquis, so what have you been up to all day?" McMahon asked conversationally.

"Running around like a chicken with my head cut off," Steve stated.

"Ah and how do you like Gloria?"

"You mean Gladys?" Steve asked.

"Ah you found out her secret, lovely, and what else did she tell you?"

"Gladys didn't tell us anything we didn't already know," Steve sighed.

"She was always one of my favorite relatives," McMahon sighed pleasantly. "And where are you keeping her now that your police precinct is being fumigated?"

"That is confidential information for witness protection. I can't divulge that information to you at this time." Steve answered mechanically.

"Shame, I wanted to send a gift basket, or maybe a cake with a file baked into it." McMahon mocked.

"I'll give you your sister if you give me Danny," Steve stated.

"Nah, I'm not one for trades. They are too easy, kinda cheating you out of the fun of the chase. I need you to use your brain and prove yourself to be worthy of my dear friend Daniel."

"Alright I will," Steve stated as he heard a tap at the glass behind him as Kono pressed the satellite phone against the glass. "Sorry to cut this love chat short, but I really have to fly." Steve stated tipping Danny off again.

"I'll be here waiting for your return," Danny sighed and Toast cut the connection once more.

**A/N: Referencing _My Fair Lady_, I love that musical, and in a creepy way I think McMahon would too! **


	14. Mobilization

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long for an update on this bad boy, but if its any consolation I do have up to chapter 19 now written and back logged…but cliffies are fun to hang off of so expect those! Thanks everyone for all the love for this story, you are all awesome and I really appreciate it. Hope I don't disappoint!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 14: Mobilization

Steve and Toast rushed into the commander's office where the rest of the team had gathered when Kono had given the signal. The satellite phone was passed in Steve's direction and everyone fell silent straining to hear whatever they might.

"Talk to me," Steve demanded.

"We are ninety percent sure we've found your man." Admiral Winchester stated as the phone reached Steve's ear. "We've tracked a fairly strong signal bouncing off a television satellite but with an unknown frequency. When we tried to communicate we get no response and the networks are guaranteeing it is not from one of their stations. We can't get a lock on it, as it keeps changing its frequency, but it's bouncing off a location in Ewa." He explained. "Satellite images show a massive steal structure buried under ground up in Ewa and we are certain that the signal is being relayed to that structure."

"From where, I need to know, from where?" Steve asked his heart in his throat.

"We're trying to get you a location on the origins of the signal but it is bouncing off several other television towers and satellite frequencies. Every time we get close it changes its frequency and bounces off a different location, but it always finds its way back to Ewa." Winchester answered, "I've sent you some back up they should be arriving shortly and will continue to work from your location," he added.

"Thank you sir," Steve stated.

"Save that civilian Sailor!" Winchester ordered into Steve's ear and then hung up.

Steve jumped in that moment dialed another number into the satellite phone as the members of his team watched in silent awe.

"Move out!" he ordered as he shouted co-ordinances into the phone and then hung up again.

"What was that all about?" Chin asked in confusion.

"They tracked the signal up to Ewa. I have an excavation crew on their way into the forest reserve as we speak. We know Danny is buried so I have got us some big diggers." Steve stated and rushed out into the office just as the sound of helicopters rattled the glass in the office windows

5-0

Two navy helicopters landed with precision just outside the palace doors; one on either side of the statue of King Kamehameha. Catherine and two other naval intelligence officers disembarked from the first as Commander Gutches and two other SEALs disembarked from the second and marched into the palace loaded with equipment.

The double glass doors of the Five-O office flew open as Catherine walked in with her gear and Steve and his crew exited his office.

"Did someone call for backup?" Cat asked with a smile as her colleagues began setting up the equipment they had arrived with.

"I thought you were out at sea!" Steve stated in shock.

"On an aircraft carrier!" Cat laughed. "I was ordered onto a jet the moment our conversation was over. And now here I am. Where's the hacker?" she asked her tone full of urgency.

"I'm Toast," he stated as he pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. "Please don't hurt me; I never tried to hack naval intelligence I swear!"

"I wasn't accusing you of anything." Cat said suspiciously.

"Oh, ok, what can I do for you?" Toast smiled and sucked the lollipop back into his mouth.

"Can you get us connected with Danny?" Cat asked and motioned to the military grade equipment that was booting up.

"I'll do my best!" Toast stated and jumped to work with the navy intelligence officers.

"Alright, the SEALs are under your command, McGarrett, I'm taking over here and the helicopters are ready to take you up to Ewa!" Cat stated and turned her attention to the computer before her. She dialed a number into her own satellite phone and held it to her ear as she watched the screens around her flash to life, "We're going live Admiral," She stated and proceeded to continue a conversation with the highest ranking officer she had ever been in direct contact with.

"Great, Chin you're with me in the helicopters. Kono, Lori and Max get on the road and get up to Ewa as quickly as possible. Bring HPD back up. SWAT is on stand by for when you locate McMahon!" Steve stated and handed Charlie a satellite phone. "You are my eyes and ears back here, Charlie, when we uncover the crime scene get your guys and get out to us."

"I got it!" Charlie stated as the navy frequencies were connected, the Five-Os were hooked up with wires from intelligence and they split up ready to mobilize and find Danny.


	15. Hole

**A/N: Because Qweb told me that the last chapter just wasn't long enough, I'm sending out this second chapter today. Hope you like it. I promise there is some Danny in it! You may not be happy with me by the end of the chapter though…I apologize! **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 15: Hole

In the hasty departure none of the Five-Os were able to truly comprehend the magnitude at which the investigation had taken a turn, and the possibility of not finding Danny was completely vacant from their minds up until that point. This was it, the final count down, they were going to find Danny and bring him home safely, and they had to with this much help from so many different agencies. The only thing that went through their minds as they climbed into helicopters or the bright yellow Camaro was what they _were_ on the verge of finding and that was Danny.

The case, the threats, everything came down to that, to finding Danny and making the team whole again, but as they sat, unable to do anything but mentally prepare was think about the worst case scenario. What if McMahon had found a way to watch everything? What if there really was a self destruct? What if they couldn't get Danny out in time? What if Ewa was a distraction?

Steve fought to keep those thoughts at bay as the island of Oahu passed below the helicopters and the city faded to jungle.

"Once we get out to Ewa there is nowhere to set these birds down, Commander!" the pilot announced as they drew closer to their destination.

"How do you feel about repelling out of a helicopter?" Steve asked as he turned to look at Chin.

"If a SEAL can do it, so can I!" Chin stated confidently.

"Good Man!" Commander Gutches stated as he clapped Chin on the shoulder and went about attaching the safety harness to himself, Chin and Steve before they moved into position on the edge of the open exits of the helicopters.

Two navy helicopters hovered over the location, as close to the ground as they could get but still above the trees as ropes made of nylon were tossed out of the open doors and six men launched themselves, their gear and their weapons out of the hovering birds.

Once on the ground and free from the ropes the helicopters flew off and the SEALs, led by Steve and Chin, moved in and looked around.

"The ground has clearly been disturbed!" Steve stated as he looked at the jungle floor and the radio antenna that was stashed in a pile of fallen logs and brush. "I think we found our broadcasting antennae."

"Cameras!" Chin stated as he scanned the area and his heart dropped as he spotted small web cams and larger industrial grade surveillance equipment wired to large palms and monitoring the whole locations, "We're being watched Steve!"

"Shoot them out!" Steve ordered and the area came alive with the sounds of gun fire.

5-0

"What the hell?" McMahon stated as he watched the computer monitors around him go blank. "How did you get out there so fast McGarrett?" he asked angrily.

Danny jumped at the sound, he was still live with McMahon and the sudden sound of voices and gun shots caught his attention.

"What's going on?" Danny demanded.

"It would seem your little Stevie boy can truly fly!" McMahon growled angrily.

"Steve!" Danny yelled at the top of his lungs.

"He can't hear you Daniel, you are six feet _under_ his feet and you will not see the light of another day!" McMahon cackled with manic laughed.

"Whoa, what the hell?" Danny yelled as dampness spread along the length of the coffin he was lying in.

"It is time for my plan B," McMahon laughed, "You are going to drown on dry land!"

5-0

"I got it!" Toast stated as he typed frantically at the navy computers.

"Danny?" Catherine asked as once again the image of the captured detective flashed to life on the screens.

"Get me outta here!" Danny yelled in a full on panic.

"Danny what's happening?" Toast asked over the frantic yelling.

"He's flooding this box!" Danny yelled, "It's his plan B, he's caught onto you!"

"On no!" Catherine cried.

"I'm on it," Toast stated as he rushed for his computer, "Don't panic Danny, I've got this."

"Who the hell are you people?" McMahon yelled at the sound of the strangers. "What are you doing to my beautiful program?" he asked as his monitors started to go black and the program was revered remotely. "No!"

5-0

Steve's army of excavators and cranes rumbled up the back bush road as the naval team finished shooting out the cameras.

"Talk to me you guys!" Steve yelled into his head set as he heard the frantic panic come from HQ.

"We're working on keeping Danny alive!" Toast's voice was heard over the commotion, "Get to work digging that hole!"

Steve and Chin exchanged a frantic look as they waved the heavy machinery into place and the digging started.

"Its deep, we have a ways to go!" Commander Gutches stated as his team set up sonar and infrared equipment that had been dropped with them from the helicopters.

"Dig!" Steve yelled once the machines were in place.

5-0

Kono, Lori and Max sped through the city. Max had never driven faster or more dangerously then he was in that moment. He had a pack of police cruisers following him and the two women in the car egging him on. Truth be told, it was a long way up to Ewa, but with the road being cleared before him and the panic erupting in his ear from HQ, Max was determined to push the race car to its limits and get out to the scene and do whatever he could to save Danny.

5-0

"Hurry Steve," Toast yelled, "he's reprogramming as we speak." He added as he worked to block McMahon at every step.

"Danny, just hang in there," Catherine stated as she too worked to isolate the signals and cut McMahon off.

"You can't stop me!" McMahon growled. "I've got a plan C!" he stated as a sudden gurgling was heard.

Danny yelled and the screens in the bull pen went blank.


	16. Rescue

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Thanks so much for all the comments and love for this story. You've almost pushed it over the 100 comments mark! That's awesome! So because of the popularity and because I don't know when in the next 6 weeks I am going to have time to work on these stories again, I am posting another update. Yes Six Weeks because of a musical, a major term concert, mid terms and a trip to New York, I'll be really busy.**

**I know you will hate me when you read where I leave this chapter…but that's what makes it so fun for me. I know how bad that sounds, but it's the truth! I hope you like it.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 16: Rescue

"Danny!" Came a cry from HQ over all of the head sets that struck fear and despair into the hearts of all who could hear it.

"What's going on?" was the frantic response to the cries heard over the radio frequency as the Five-Os in the field came to a sudden and shocked stop and then through themselves to work with even more urgency.

"We can't go any further!" one of the excavator operators yelled as they hit something hard.

Steve jumped, followed by Chin into the hole, down six feet, and began digging frantically with his bare hands.

"What the hell, this isn't a coffin!" Steve yelled.

"He buried the shipping container!" Chin stated when he realized what had happened.

"Get out of the hole!" Steve ordered, "You have to keep on digging!" He yelled and the excavators moved back into place and an ambulance and HPD, with Warp 9, arrived on the scene. "You gotta keep it moving back, it's a full size shipping container!" he yelled at the machine operators and the digging began again.

5-0

"Tic Toc, Tic Toc," McMahon laughed as he watched and listened as the interior of the coffin became saturated with water and Danny continued to panic as the encroaching water flooded in around him at an alarming rate.

"You know I like you Daniel, but this is just how things have to work." McMahon cooed, "Wo Fat wants you dead, he wants Steve to watch you die and he wants to finish off a distraught navy SEAL, and really who am I to argue with the man who gave me my freedom and can get me safely away from everything. All I had to do was this one little thing and well, Steve played right into my hand. Keep on panicking it will make things happen much quicker and you'll be out of your misery. I wish you luck, my friend, in whatever lies beyond this life and I want you to die knowing that I did respect you, you have a beautiful mind. You are just the middle man, the means to an end, and you know I value my life, my mind, more then I value anything else. I'm sorry. Muah, love ya."

"You are a monster and you don't know Steve. He will find you, he will kill you and Wo Fat cannot protect you." Danny yelled.

"A part of me wants to believe you Daniel," McMahon stated calmly, "but I think your emotional state is clouding your judgement. Steve isn't as smart as you, but if you must believe that to slip peacefully into oblivion then perhaps I've underestimated your foolishness."

Danny could hear the scratching of metal on metal. He could feel the shifting and the rocking of the container he was in but the water was rising around him quicker now that the fabric lining was completely saturated. His clothing was now soaked through and everything around he started to feel so heavy in water. He'd soon be out of room, out of air and even if the coffin wasn't sealed tightly, he'd still drown in the fabric that pressed at his body and held tight to the liquid that was invading his space.

"It won't be long now Daniel," McMahon stated and cut the air, the electronics and the possibility of Toast finding a way back to the coffin and reversing the effects of McMahon's master program. "Good-Bye once more Detective Williams, I doubt very much that we will ever see each other alive again." McMahon added and ended the connection with Daniel completely.

"Steve!" Danny yelled with all his might as the water rose all around him and he pushed himself toward the top of the coffin struggling for whatever air might be left.

5-0

"The signal is gone!" Catherine gasped when her searching came to an abrupt end and everyone in HQ and over the radio frequency heard it.

"He cut the power!" Toast yelled.

"Is there anything you can do?" Steve yelled over the radio connection.

"Nothing!"

"Get it out of there!" Steve yelled as the edges of the shipping container were made visible.

Frantically the workers dropped chains into the hole and attached them to the rings that were welded to the top of the container. Another long moment and Steve felt himself holding his breath as the chains lifted the container out of the hole and it sway dangerously in the air, before it was placed down on the solid ground once more.

Rushing for the door, Steve shot the dirt covered and already rushing pad lock off the container with his sig and threw open the container doors to a wave of beach sand that fell out at him. His heart sank. "The container is full of sand!" he yelled as Chin, Kono and Lori stared on in disbelief.

"How the hell did that get all the way out here?" Max asked in shocked.

"We're dealing with a criminal mastermind, we'll figure that out later," Steve yelled and dove for into the sand.

5-0

The swing and sway told Danny that his friends were near and hope came back to him but at the same time the water in the coffin was sloshing around with erratic movements and making every well calculated breath to be strained, and Danny felt himself inhaling water and choking as the water moved with the motion of the swinging.

5-0

"Shovels, we need shovels," Steve yelled as he dove forward into the contained and just started throwing the sand out with his bare hands.

The back of the container was pulled open by an excavator as the Five-Os started digging from the already open side. Again sand poured out as the doors swung open and Steve's SEALs started on the other end in as much of a hurry as their commanding officer.

5-0

Forcing himself up as high into the lid of the coffin as he could Danny gasped for what little air there was left. He knew it was the last he had. The water was everywhere, soaking through everything, weighing down all of the fabric that absorbed and held onto the water, and it all seemed to close in on him. One last breath, one last cry for help, it was all Danny had left.

5-0

"Danny!" Steve yelled. "I heard him! He's here!"

Sand flew in all directions as electronic equipment, water and oxygen tanks and all manner of wiring were ripped and dragged out of the container, but with every shovel full of sand they still had not found the coffin and the exhaustion and panic was playing on everyone. They knew that time was not with them. They knew Danny was within reach, they just had to push with all that they had left.

Then suddenly with the clang of a shovel on metal, the gold of the handles was spotted in the dimming light.

"Get him outta there!"


	17. Drown

**A/N: Alright, I think you have suffered long enough…Qweb… I'm sorry the chapter is so short. It probably could have been part of the last chapter but then again where would the fun be in that? Sorry it's taking so long. I have so much going on right now that I hardly have time to sleep, let alone write, but I had this chapter pretty much done already and stashed away so here it is. I hope you like it. There is more to come as soon as I get a moment to breathe.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 17: Drown

Steve dove back into the sand, scratching and clawing at the moist sand that clung around the edges of the buried coffin and that continued to spill and slip everywhere like unending sands in an hour glass. Meanwhile other workers moved equipment into place around Steve. The chains that had pulled the shipping container out of the hole in the ground were dragged into the container this time and linked around the coffin's golden handles as the excavators moved into place. Slowly but steadily the coffin was pulled from the mountains of beach sand that still spilled out of the shipping container. It was a jerky motion, and each and every member of the team held their breath as the coffin slowly appeared through the sand.

Steve rushed forward, stumbling in the loose beach sand as he moved in and pulled with all his might to lift the lid of the casket. Water seeped out as he pried his fingers under the lid and the sands clung to ever bit of moisture that escaped. Steve's heart sank, there was too much water, too much sand and the casket almost felt like the lid was suctioned shut.

The coffin lid gave way, finally, to the sloshing of the water and the dripping of the saturated white fabric of its interior. Among the folds of the fabric was Danny's lifeless body.

"Oh my God!" Steve gasped as he panicked again and reached into the water, grabbing Danny under the arms and pulling him out of the horrible box. "Danny wake up!" he yelled as he pulled, as if Danny weighed nothing in his weighted down state, out of the water and onto dry land. "Danny you have to listen to me and wake up." Steve yelled again and shook his partner violently.

Kono and Lori stifled their sobs and gasped as Chin and the paramedics moved in.

"Steve hand him over," Chin ordered as Steve clung to the drenched and limp body of his partner. "Hand him to the paramedics Steve!" Chin yelled the panic in his voice now.

Danny was laid down, flat on his back, and finally Steve moved to give way to the paramedics.

"We're too close, this can't be happening!" Steve stated as he began to pace and the paramedics worked frantically. "Too close and we've been through too much for him to die like this!"

"I have a pulse," One of the medics stated and without another though forced air into Danny's lungs.

"Go again!" The second medic demanded as he monitored the pulse of the still Detective.

Chin, Kono, Lori and Steve watched in fear as Max paced and the navy SEALs hovered.

"I don't want to do my job tonight. Come on Danny, breathe!" Max stated loud enough that all of the Five-Os heard him.

"Again!" the second medic yelled as the first took another deep breath and force that air into Danny's lungs.

Danny's body convulsed, he was rolled onto his side and with a cough and a gasp the water was expelled from his lungs, then his body shook with the force of the ordeal as he gasped for air, fighting and flailing his arms as the sudden shock of life hit him and his mind went back to the last panic he had felt.

"He's going into shock!" the first medic yelled as Danny was wrapped in a safety blanket and with one swift movement he was lifted onto a gurney and pushed toward the ambulance.

"Danny!" Steve stated as he rushed after the paramedics and to his shock two brilliant blue eyes locked with his.

"Go with him!" Kono stated with tears in her eyes, "We'll follow you." She said and pushed Steve toward the ambulance.

"He's alive," Steve gasped and without another hesitation he rushed after Danny into the ambulance.

"He _is_ alive," Chin sighed and wrapped his arms around both Kono and Lori.


	18. Quiet

**A/N: As with my other story, I am trying to get these back logged chapters all posted so that I can have access to all of my already written materials when I am in Toronto. I plan to only take my iPhone with me, but if I have time to write, or the inspiration can be found in the chaos I'll do what I can. Until things clear up, however, I'm afraid my stories will all be on hold. Sorry. I will be posting chapter 19 of this story at the same time so that you guys aren't left with another cliffy. Chapter 19 kinda settles things down for a little while so I hope you like it too.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 18: Quiet

Kono, Chin and Lori stood together, just holding each other, as they watched the ambulance drive away. Max had moved to the casket and, without touching it, was examining it for evidence. It was all he could think of to do in his nervous and agitated stated. Commander Gutches took charge of the scene and the SEALs stood around with their weapons still drawn as they waited. Moments passed like hours as they all waited for the investigators to arrive at the scene and held onto an eerie feeling that they were still being watched. They had called in the crime scene as soon as the container came out of the ground but with all the sand inside and the jungle all around them, everyone present knew that there would be little to find without the proper equipment. It was time to leave the investigation to the professionals.

The scene was clean and it was quiet, and yet the air was electrically charged. Like some odd power had been released from the box the moment Danny had taken that first breath of fresh air. All of around them was the evidence of the crimes that had been committed thus far and the end of their investigation of two days, but what was absent was any direction. McMahon was still out there and the nervous, fearfully, energy that a man as crazy and malicious as that was still out there roaming free, or possibly even still watching their every move. The fearful feeling had taken a hold of every person that stood in the quiet of the darkening forest reserve. It was like a prickling at the back of their necks, and the uneasiness settled in.

"What should we do now?" Lori whispered and yet her voice sounded loud in the silence that had fallen.

"We have to make this guy pay for what he did to Danny, to all of us." Kono stated passionately.

"How are we going to do that?" Chin asked.

"I'm not sure," Kono sighed.

"Maybe Steve will know," Max sighed.

"Or Danny," Lori added.

5-0

Radio contact with the navel intelligence and Toast never ended. They had heard the whole ordeal and continued to hear what went on as Steve road along in the ambulance. The name of the hospital was relayed back to the Five-Os that were left behind in the field and then all lines went dead because they were no longer needed, but Toast never stopped working.

"It's over Toast, they found Danny," Catherine stated to the frantically typing hacker. "What else could you possibly find out there in the void that will help them now?" she asked.

"It's not over until we make that connection and catch that son of a bitch that tried to drown my friend!" Toast stated forcefully and returned his hawk like stare to his computer screen. "If I can isolate the residual signal, I may be able to follow it back to its origins and give Five-O a place to start looking again. Or I may be able to see the void in the signals and trace that. It was a tangled web of virtual information, now one strand of that is missing; I'm going to locate that strand."

"You can do that?" Catherine asked in shock.

"Oh yes, I am that good," Toast stated as he unwrapped another lollipop and jammed it into his mouth. "All information is in patterns. I just need to find the pattern that is missing and isolated it. I may be able to reactive it, in so much, that I might be able to trace it. I can't give up and you can't either. You have all the higher level access, and I need that right now."

"You're right," Catherine stated, "Back to work," She ordered to the two other men that were with her as she focused all her attention at the computer before her and the databases and secret satellites she could access. "What am I looking for Toast?"

"Anything out of the ordinary."

5-0

Back in Ewa the investigators started to arrive. Charlie had been picked up by his partner Ruby only moments after the call had come in from the field and he arrived with the crews to see the true extent of the ordeal his friends had gone through. Huge spot lights were set up and white tents that reflected the light back down onto the areas that had been cordoned off as the crime scene with yellow tape illuminated the whole area; brighter then it have ever been even in the sunshine. For the first time since they arrived the remaining Five-Os got a glimpse of what they had done, and saw in the light the damage that they may have caused to the crime scene. Sand and machinery tracks, the giant hole and the crumpled and mangled mess of the electronics were scattered everywhere, and right before them, in the middle of it all, laid the casket still full of water and eerily white as the lights caught the brightness of its interior.

"That is just sickening," Lori stated and had to turn her face away to stem the awful feeling that had come over her.

"And to think our Danny was trapped in that," Kono sighed as tears filled her eyes again.

"McMahon will not get away with this," Chin vowed.

"You guys should go to the hospital," Charlie stated after the initial shock of seeing the scene wore off, and as the navy SEALs continued to patrol the perimeter of the crime scene. "We can carry on here without you. Go and check on Danny. You guys need to be together after what you've been through. You'll know what to do, once you have been resorted to full team capacity." Charlie added and headed for the shipping container that was calling out to him.

"I'll drive," Max smiled, "Thankfully they don't need me on the scene tonight." He added and headed for the awaiting Camaro.

"What if McMahon comes here?" Kono whispered to Chin as they followed Max.

"I think he's more likely to go after Danny and Steve at the hospital." Chin answered honestly.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lori stated and ran after Max, "We have to get to them."


	19. Alive

**A/N: This chapter is all about Danny. Enjoy. I know Qweb will love it. I hope you do too. I'll catch you all again when I can. Please know that I adore you all, you are the reason I write these stories and if things were less complicated I would devote my time to you. Sadly, things have gone really wrong really fast and I need some time. I'm sorry. I'll miss you.**

Chapter 19: Alive

Steve sat in the waiting room, his head between his knees as he waited for news about his partner. They had been split up again as Danny was rushed into the emergency department, but he had been awake and alert when they arrived. Steve was shown into the emergency waiting room by one of the nurses and there he sat until the Doctor came to him, tapped him on the shoulder and smiled.

"He's going to be fine," Doctor Robinson smiled, "we've moved Detective Williams to a private room, for observation, with HPD guards and he's demanding that you and his friends be allowed to see him.

Steve stood and smiled, "That sounds like Danny."

"Let me take you to him," Doctor Robinson laughed as she turned and headed through the halls of the hospital.

5-0

"I don't ever, ever, want to find myself in that situation again, do you hear me Steven?" Danny stated forcefully as Steve walked into the room. "In all my life I never imagined that kind of torture, that darkness and then sand and water? Oh my God I swear I am going to kill someone as soon as I am out of this bed, and all these IVs. I'm trapped again!" Danny ranted.

"I don't ever want to see you like that again either, partner," Steve smiled and Danny could see the relief that seemed to melt away from Steve's body.

"What the hell took you so long?" Danny asked still trying to ease Steve's mind.

"He put you in a coffin, inside a shipping container, filled that container with beach sand that we have no idea how he got up to the mountains and then he sealed that container and buried it in six feet of jungle soil," Steve stated throwing his hands up. "Sorry it wasn't the easiest job I've had in my career."

Danny sighed, "He had to have had accomplices."

"The two baddies that were with him when they took you are both dead." Steve sighed.

"Does the extent of my burial sound like a three man operation to you?" Danny asked sarcastically.

"It took two excavators and a crane and then a whole SEAL team, Five-O and HPD to dig you out, so to answer your question, no your burial took way more then just three people." Steve stated and fell into the chair in Danny's room as the exhaustion started to hit him now that he knew his partner was safe and sound and his sense of humor was coming back to him.

"I need you to do one more thing for me, Steven, before you pass out from exhaustion because I know that's what is happening to you right now," Danny said after a long moment of just letting Steve breathe and relax his clearly exhausted mental and physical self.

"What's that Danny?" Steve asked.

"I need you to change the paper work so that I never, ever, end up in a coffin again. I want to be cremated when I die and if anyone argues that fact, tell them this story." Danny ordered.

Steve laughed heartily, "I will make sure you never lie in a casket again, I promise."

"Good," Danny sighed and fell silent.

"Are you ok?" Steve asked after waiting in silence again.

"Let's just say, once this whole thing is over and McMahon is either dead or behind bars awaiting the death penalty, I'm going to need so much therapy the Governor may have to hire six more guys to take my place on this team. But until then, I'm fine." Danny explained.

"How do you feel?" Steve asked with a smile.

"How do I feel? What kind of a question is that? Look at me. I was trapped for two days in a tiny space with nothing, no food, no where to relieve myself, nothing but this horrible voice inside my head and psychopath talking to me via some form of technology which I have added to my list of things to hate. Then, if that wasn't torture enough I was nearly drowned in that same tiny space. Sure the drink of water was nice in the beginning but my lungs are killing me, my throat hurts from vomiting and some male paramedic had to do mouth to mouth on me. Why couldn't it have been a cute female paramedic? I don't have SEAL training Steven; I can't hold my breath for a million years. I'm not a fish! Then the thing started swinging and sloshing the water all around and whatever little air I had left was elusive because of the motion. It sucked! Now, you ask me how I am, when clearly you can see that I am stuck with all kinds of needles with bags of who knows what draining into me because I am dehydrated…ha funny…and I need nourishment, plus pain killers and soon I'm sure they will sedate me as well. So really Steven, how do you think I feel?"

"I can't imagine how you feel."

"I feel like crap, but I'll be ok. I'm alive aren't I?" Danny tried to smile.

"I missed your rants," Steve chucked.

"I know you would, that's why I just pulled out one of my best just for you. But now, if you don't mind, I'm a little tired."

"You rest. I'm going to stay right here."

"And hover?"

"If you don't want me to hover, I'll just sit."

"Just sit Steven."

5-0

Steve ran from Danny's room as he spotted his counterparts coming down the hallway. He has strategically positioned the chair so he could see not only the room but out the door and slightly down the hallway. He was still on high alert even though he was exhausted, but he knew he had to protect Danny now that he finally had him back in his sights.

"He's okay!" Steve smiled. "The doctor is doing some tests but she's sure that Danny is going to be just fine. Danny is awake, but exhausted. He's dehydrated but he's responding well to the treatments for that, and he's going to have some more test done in the morning to make sure that the lack of oxygen to his brain hasn't done any lasting damage, but judging by the rant and the wise cracks, I'd say Danny is Danny."

"What about you?" Chin asked.

"I'm going to kill McMahon for doing this to him." Steve growled.

"I think we all want a piece of that guy!" Kono stated passionately.

"But for now, we just wanna see Danny." Lori added and her counterparts nodded.

"Danny's demanding it," Steve smiled and led team into the room.

5-0

Danny truly looked like he had been through an ordeal. His face was pale, his lips were chapped, and his hair was an absolute mess but his blue eyes shown with life and determination and grew even brighter as his team flooded into his hospital room.

"I knew you guys had it in you!" Danny said his voice horse but a smile spread across his features as Kono and Lori attacked him with hugs, one on each side of his bed. "Thanks for saving my life. I owe you one. I was never supposed to live through that, McMahon told me so just before he cut the power and the oxygen." Danny confessed.

"You know we'd do anything for you," Kono smiled a tear and a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh come on, don't get all mushy on me now Kono!" Danny stated and the young woman giggled.

"Now fill me in on the case!"

"Doc says you need to rest!" Steve stated silencing the girls.

"Besides there really isn't a case anymore," Chin said as he clasped Danny's hand and Danny pulled him into a hug.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, and then spotted Max hovering at the door. "Come on Max, you're part of this too!" Danny added and the Medical Examiner came in and hugged the rescued Detective.

"The case was to find you and we did," Steve explained, "Now we have to start all over again to try and find McMahon."

Panic flashed in Danny's eyes.

"Be calm, HPD are on Rachel, Stan and especially Grace." Steve stated to try and calm Danny before he erupted like Pele. "They have been moved off the island and are being given presidential treatment by the governor who has also gone into hiding for safety sake."

"Who was that other man working with Catherine?" Danny asked remembering the strange voice.

"You mean our new best friend, Toast?" Chin laughed.

"That guy has some mad, mad skills," Kono added.

"He's pretty great!" Lori agreed.

"I don't make friends with just anyone you know!" Danny laughed.

"He's safe too," Steve said as he saw the worry in Danny's eyes again. "Charlie is in the field with a detail of navy SEALs while Toast is back at HQ with Cat and naval intelligence and about a million HPD officers. We also have Admiral Winchester overseeing the whole process."

"Not admiral Winchester," Danny stated sarcastically.

"He's only the man in charge of the SEALs," Steve shrugged playing along.

"Friends in high and low places, good for you, but I still don't think you understand the lengths McMahon will go to. Once he finds out I'm still alive his whole plan will have fallen apart and he'll have to start all over to save his own life. He told me why this happened. Wo Fat is behind it all." Danny said.

"We know." Steve sighed.

"I was always supposed to die, so that you would be distracted and so that Wo Fat could take you out. McMahon is probably long gone already." Danny sighed.

"If he is, he'll be found, if he's still here he's soon to know that you're alive," Steve stated. "It's now time for him to play at our game, and that game involves his failure to accomplish Wo Fat's wishes. Who is really in danger here?"

"We are," Danny practically yelled.

"We're always in danger, but now we're together and we know what they were really trying to do, and we have McMahon's sister in custody," Steve explained.

"We're wide awake to McMahon and we aren't letting our guard down Danny," Kono said as she reached out and took his hand again, "we'll catch this guy because we have each other and now we have our secret weapon."

"Oh yeah, what is that?" Danny asked skeptically. "You don't know McMahon like I do."

"You're the secret weapon, you moron!" Steve laughed, "Although we do have the navy too."


	20. Morning

**A/N: I know you have all been waiting so long for an update on this story, and here it is! Hope you like it. Now we move into Danny doing what he does best. I really like this moment that is shared between Danny and Steve, and I really think that it brings the unity back to the group which means they can move on.**

**Well I hope you enjoy it. More to come very soon I promise!**

Chapter 20: Morning

Danny awoke with the brilliance of the sun that peeped in through the semi closed blinds. It was the first sun he had seen in three days, and even though Danny wasn't a morning person or particularly religious, he thanked God for the opportunity to see the sun again. All around him, crowded into the tiny hospital room, were his friends. Steve, though he slept, still looked like a soldier ready to attack. He sat on the window seat. His head rested on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Lori slept with her head in Steve's lap and her slender frame crammed into the space that was the window seat. Chin had fallen asleep, God only knows how, in one of the two chairs in the room while Max was curled up on the floor on a mattress made of the other chairs cushions. Kono, before Danny had drifted off to sleep himself, had climbed into the hospital bed with him, at his invitation, and nuzzled into his shoulder as the sun became more of an intrusion. Even though Danny had been through an ordeal he could tell, just by looking at the men and women around him, that they had nearly killed themselves trying to find him and this, he guessed, was the first sleep any of them had gotten in the time since he had been discovered missing, and he was right in that assumption.

Danny silently watched as no one stirred but the still rhythm of their breathing filled the small space and he was happy to not be alone anymore; to hear the sounds of other people and not just the horrible voice of Daniel McMahon and the doubt in his own mind. For a moment Danny felt safe and close to those who loved him, but his mind was still very troubled.

Doctor Robinson crept into the small room about an hour after Danny had first woken up. At the sound of Danny's hushing the Doctor, Steve nearly bolted out of his seat, waking in and instant, but realizing where Lori was and gaining control as to not knock her right out of the window seat and onto the floor with Max. Doctor Robinson couldn't help but smile. She worked as quickly and as quietly as she could; checking Danny's vitals and drawing blood for more testing. She had a nurse come back and hang one more bag of saline to help hydrate Danny and she checked his pupils to see if everything was functioning normally. She whispered a few positive words to Danny, told him he should try and get more sleep, and then the doctor left the room.

"You gonna listen to her?" Steve asked from his place at the window as he hushed his voice and tried desperately not to move.

"Are you?" Danny asked and looked at his partner quizzically. "I will if you do."

"I'm not the one that needs the rest," Steve stated nonchalantly.

"I don't believe that for one second. Besides, Lori has you pinned to that seat, you may as well try and sleep or risk waking her to get up and try to pace around Max who is taking up most, if not all, of the free floor space." Danny whispered and flailed the one arm that was hooked up to the IV and not wrapped around Kono's shoulder.

"You better do the same before all your talking turns to more violent flailing and you wake Kono. How you managed to get a woman into your hospital bed I'll never know, but I give you props for that!"

"You are lucky she's out like a light or she'd kick your ass," Danny retorted with a smirk.

"At least your ordeal hasn't ruined your sense of humor." Steve smiled.

"I don't see why you all stayed. I'm perfectly safe with my detail of HPD thugs hanging out." Danny tried to be sarcastic but it was difficult while he was trying to keep quiet.

"For three days we searched for you, terrified to split up; well they were and I got shit from Chin for going off on my own when McMahon seemed to want me as well. I don't think any of us will feel safe until McMahon is locked up again." Steve explained, "now that we have you back we're not going to let you our of our sights." He added with a smile. "You had me really worried, Danno, more then I've ever been." Steve said and there was honesty and concern in his every look and on his ever word.

"I don't think I'd feel comfortable letting you leave either," Danny confessed after a moment of contemplation, "I was terrified, more afraid then I'd ever been while I was in that box. I knew so much about McMahon, I've seem the things he's done to the people he's held hostage or the victims of his killing. I had nightmares about that case for many years and then there I was in the situation I'd feared the most. I was held captive by my sickest, most twisted and sinister fugitive ever. The only other thing that had shaken me as badly as the McMahon case was 9-11. I never want to hear that voice again. I was jumpy every time I thought I saw him in a crowd. I was happy to come to Hawaii when I had made that decision because a part of me believed that I would get away from him, but still, even here, I saw him. I shrugged it off as nerves, but he confessed that he'd been following me."

"Did you know he had escaped?" Steve asked.

"I did, my old partner called me right away, but I was up to my eyeballs in a case with you to really let it register," Danny explained. "Then I was worried, I obsessively watched the news, checked the internet for bodies found anywhere in the U.S and the world that matched his M.O. When he was after the children, the bodies were always found in the same way. I don't even want to think about that horror, but I watched for the amber alerts. I prayed that the children would be found and I used our access to look into cases that were within the databases. I thanked God every time the similarities to his murderous style were not present in the cases, but in the back of my mind I knew he would surface and the nightmares came back, and they have."

"I had no idea," Steve stated, "I wonder if he knew you were looking for him. He hacked our system, HPD and everything. He monitored our cars, our phones, our houses. He was everywhere and the depths of his reach were unimaginable. We were dead in the water for a while." Steve confessed. "We may be able to recover from it, but I'm worried."

"He probably knew everything," Danny sighed, "that's just how his brain works. He probably knew everything the moment he landed on this island. Who knows how long he's been here, but I bet his first order of business was to study us, learn everything there was to know about us and then, when he felt he had it all down and committed to memory, he made his move. He hungers for knowledge, he is a certified genius, and he will stop at nothing until he has reached the goals of his fanaticism. He is a monster and a man. I don't know how he figured that I had some smarts, I don't pretend to be a genius, but he continually told me he liked me; he liked my brain and found it fascinating. Can you believe that he actually took care of me in that box? He talked to me as if I was his friend, like there was something I could teach him. Like he cared just a little bit, and that is the part that scares me the most. I don't want to believe that there is any humanity in him. He needs to be just a monster."

"He was fascinated because you caught him before and he didn't understand how you figured it out. The only logical conclusion, in his mind, was that you were a genius as well." Steve said. "He kept taunting me and telling me that my brain, my mind, would never be as beautiful as yours. That I needed to learn to think and maybe I'd be able to rescue you. I think he wanted to prove to himself that I was an idiot, or make me believe that I was one."

"We have to catch him again, we have to stop him from doing this to anyone every again; we have to." Danny sighed. "Or we need to kill him. If he's in with Wo Fat who knows what they can do together. Wo Fat is doing his business; Daniel McMahon does what he does for pleasure. Of the two, I'd say McMahon is the more dangerous."

"I agree." Steve whispered.

"We can't let him mess with our minds. We have to be confident in our own abilities, and what he doesn't understand is that two head are better then one. The reason he will fail is because he doesn't see how people need other people." Danny explained.

"I know, it's frightening," Steve sighed.

"Shackles, straight jackets, masks and walls will never be enough to hold Daniel McMahon." Danny stated forcefully to push his point home.

"I understand Danny."

"Steve, you are going to have to shoot first and ask questions later." Danny stated, "I don't think I will ever truly rest, truly be at peace, truly be comfortable if I know that he is still alive."

"I can do that, I'm trained for that, but can you?" Steve asked.

Danny nodded slowly, "I have to throw the rules out the window for McMahon. He'd do the same for me."

"Danny, are you sure you understand what you are saying?"

"Yes, I need Daniel McMahon dead."


	21. Eat

**A/N: Here is just a small update at this late hour…or early it's like 1:30am. This chapter is really kinda filler but I felt like we needed something light before I head back into the darkness of this case. I am almost finished writing this story and as I am starting to have my own nightmares about McMahon, I'm kinda ready to be done with him. Thank you to everyone who have left such lovely comments on this and all of my stories, you guys have really made it easy to write these and keep myself on track and being creative, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means a lot to know that there are so many good, kind people out there.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 21: Eat

Another full day passed in the hospital, much to the team's dismay. Danny was taken by the medical staff for his cognitive tests and they felt the separation desperately, and the worry return, but the HPD detail followed Danny ever where and because of the circumstances Steve had been allowed to tag along.

By the evening of the second full hospital day Danny was returned to his room, exhausted, and ordered to eat something and stay in bed. The bed part was easy as Danny really was still mentally and physically exhausted but the eating of the hospital food was a no go. Danny had tried, taken one bite of the mystery meet and pushed the food away. He managed to eat only the jello and drink the juice, and even that was questionable in his mind, and then that was the end of the attempt at what the hospital classified as solid food.

"I just can't do it," Danny stated as he pushed away the tray and his stomach growled. "I don't care how hungry I feel, that is just torture to try and feed a sick man something that questionable."

"You aren't sick, you're more injured then sick," Steve retorted.

"Same thing; I'm in a hospital aren't I?"

"I just don't understand how you can be so stubborn. I've had much more questionable meals in the Navy." Steve shrugged.

"I don't see why you won't go out and get me something better!" Danny stated sarcastically, "now who's being stubborn?"

Steve simply shook his head and turned his attention to the view out Danny's hospital room window and the setting sun.

Also that evening Catherine and Toast made a stop in to visit, with Kamekona and Charlie coming in later. Catherine and Toast filled Steve and the team in on the things that they had been attempting, solidifying for Danny the worries he'd had about the access that McMahon had gained, however, with Catherine's access and Toast's uncanny ability to program bugs and back doors, Danny was somewhat relieved that they were working with Five-O in this situation.

Kono, Lori, Chin and Max had left the hospital in the afternoon, staying together the entire time, while Danny and Steve were shuffled from room to room for Danny's testing. The four returned in the evening to find Steve and Danny back in the room and Steve pressuring Danny to try and eat something else while Danny begged Steve to at least put in and effort to try and find him something _real_ to eat.

"Here try this," Kamekona had said when he came to visit, after the darkness had fallen.

"You are my favorite person in the world right now," Danny sighed happily as he pulled his favorite cheese burger out of the paper bag. "And fries!" he gasped as he looked back into the bag and took a deep breath.

"Should you really be eating that?" Steve asked as he eyes the grease stains that were appearing on the paper bag.

"He can eat it," Doctor Robinson laughed as she walked into the room just as Danny was about to take a huge bite. "Mr. Williams, your vitals are good, your cognitive processing is higher then the average person, even after your ordeal, and you seem to be regaining some of your energy. I'd say you are going to be tip top in no time, but I will recommend that you talk to a clinical psychologist or seek out some form of therapy for the ordeal you've been through." She added as Danny took the bite of that burger.

"When can I go back to work?" Danny asked with his mouth full.

"Tomorrow, we're going to release you in the morning," Doctor Robinson laughed, "but you need to take it easy."

"Perfect, can I get that in writing. My boss might not let me back to work without a doctor's note." Danny stated with a wink toward Steve.

"He's perfectly capable of working," Doctor Robinson stated as she turned toward Steve, "Do you really need a note?"

"It might be good if the Governor questions my motives when I let Danny back to work right away after being buried alive and then a two day hospital stay." Steve stated honestly.

"Oh my God this burger is so good!" Danny groaned contently and took another bite.

"I'll write up a note," Doctor Robinson laughed as she shook her head, "Perhaps you should try to eat something as well commander. I don't want to have to start treating you because you're exhausted and going through starvation."

Kamekona waved another back in Steve's direction but Steve declined. "I'll be alright." Steve smiled.

"Alright, enjoy the rest of your meal Detective," Doctor Robinson laughed and left the room.

"I think you may have insulted a vegetarian by eating that thing," Steve teased.

"If she is one, she doesn't know what she's missing!" Danny shrugged and continued merrily inhaling his burger and fries.

"Good thing we brought you cloths and a vehicle for tomorrow." Lori stated when Steve had turned from the bed to look back at the team once again gathered in the room and who were eating take out Kamekona and Charlie had brought for them.

"And don't worry, Chin and I combed the car, removed the GPS and anything else we could find. The Camaro is completely clear and ready to be driven again." Kono added.

"Not that I'll get to drive it," Danny sighed, but then sipped at a frosty beverage that had also appeared with his meal and seemed forget his displeasure.

"Where's mine?" Steve asked feeling hungry all of a sudden as he watched all of his friends eating.

"He caved!" Kono and Lori laughed together

"I thought this was way to grease to be consuming," Danny stated and wiped at his hands with a messy and almost useless napkin.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," Steve stated and was passed a bag of his own.

"It's chicken," Kamekona stated, "probably the healthiest thing on that menu."

"Thank you," Steve smiled and took up his place in the window seat once more.

"So tomorrow we get down to business," Danny smiled at his friends.

"Yes, but you have to take it easy." Steve ordered and then took a huge bite from his chicken burger, "oh my god this is good!" he sighed contently.

"I told you!" Danny laughed and finally, pushing the worry to one side for at least a little while, the team enjoyed the companionship of one another feeling safe and content.


	22. Work

**A/N: Because I am feeling benevolent tonight, or rather this morning early, I have decided to post this right away. It's time to get to some more action for our Five-Os. Hope you like the additions I've made to the team that I love! Hugs for Toast, that's all I'm saying!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 22: Work

It took a lot of convincing but finally Steve and Danny managed to get the rest of the team to vacate the hospital room for the night and head out to get a good night sleep. They all knew that Danny was being released in the morning and that their business would start again, but the feeling of leaving was difficult.

Steve sent the four members of his team, four including Max who was still driving most of them around, to his place for the night so that they might be together and heavily armed by the arsenal he kept stashed at his house. Malia was back at the hospital and so relatively safe, so Chin went with the group and stayed at Steve's. Steve stayed the night with Danny and another detail of HPD officers just to make sure that Danny would be okay, he wasn't at all prepared to let Danny out of his sight.

The paper work for Danny's discharge arrived with the sun and by 8am Danny was dressed in his usual work attire and seated in the passenger seat of his Camaro while Steve drove.

Methodically Danny spoke as Steve drove. There were things that they needed to do to catch McMahon in the act.

"The first thing we need to do is flush him out to see if he is actually still on the island." Steve stated after Danny had rambled on.

"He's still here." Danny said after a long silence. "McMahon is meticulous, he will not move on until he's absolutely sure that he's completed his tasks. He's obsessive that way, and I'm assuming that you completely destroyed all his surveillance equipment at the site of my burial, so he has no idea weather you were successful or not, and he can't go up to the site because its still over run with investigators, so he's still on the island waiting to make his next move."

"So what should we do?" Steve asked.

"I have a plan, but I need the team," Danny stated as the statue of King Kamehameha came into view.

"What's going on here?" Danny asked seeing the multitudes of vehicles, both naval and commercial gathered in the parking lot.

"We're stepping up security," Steve smiled.

5-0

Danny and Steve parked the car and headed into the foyer of the palace. Men and women in police uniforms and naval work uniforms mingled with the usual suspects. They walked together until they reached the doors to their office and Danny was shocked at the change. The office was a hive of activity as new equipment was being combined with everything they already had.

"What the hell is going on here?" Danny asked as everyone stopped at the sound of his voice and turned to look at him,

"Danny!" Toast stated, his mouth full, "good to see you out of the hospital and not wearing a tie!"

"Sounds like I owe you one brother," Danny laughed. "You look like you're in your element here."

"Yeah it's great, I have a new bestie, and her name is Catherine." Toast laughed as Cat came forward, she too had a lollipop in her mouth.

"Don't judge me!" Catherine stated as Steve eyed her suspiciously with the lollipop.

"This is all your doing isn't it?" Danny as with a laugh as he hugged Cat.

"I guess you could say that." She laughed, "But it is more the Governors fault for Okaying the upgrades to the Five-O system."

"What do we need an upgrade for? I thought we were already state of the art and that all we needed was a new firewall to keep McMahon out."

"Maybe in 2010 you were state of the art, and a fire wall isn't going to do anything," Toast huffed and sat down at the station he's set up for himself, "this is 2012 and you already had someone hack your system. Who is to say it won't happen again? Well, with all this new equipment, and my amazingness, I can guarantee that you will not have any issues. I'm going to program you a beast of a security system!"

"We just needed a little something more," Catherine smirked as more new equipment was rolled through the double glass doors and into the middle of the room. "Call it a gift from above the grid and totally legit because the Governor said it was okay."

"I really thought we had enough high tech technology, how am I going to figure all this stuff out?" Danny sighed and eyed the new monstrosity that had arrived. "I can hardly run my phone."

"Don't worry Danny, we'll help you," Kono smiled, "but if we want to stay ahead of the game, we need the best equipment to give us a fighting chance."

"And let's just say I have access to all the new up and coming gadgets." Catherine added with a wink, "don't worry about at thing, we're going to use the computers for good, not evil." She said as Toast nodded excitedly.

"Do you know how much fun this is going to be?" He stated as he practically fondled the cables that were unpacked and placed before him.

"Did we just acquire a geek squad?" Danny asked and furled his brow at Steve.

"We prefer operations center personal," Cat stated.

"The technology, and Cat and Toast, are what saved your life," Steve said to his confused and overwhelmed partner.

"Look at it this way, Catherine is above and beyond the normal reaches with all her access, they practically wrote the book on all this super high tech evolution. And I'm on the down low, with my mad skills, my quick mind, and my ability to adapt to even the highest technology. You had everything in between covered; we're just here to broaden the spectrum." Toast explained.

"And, thanks to all your friend, your 'immunity and means' we're going to leave you with most of the technology, some of which isn't even declassified yet, and access at a call." Catherine smiled, "I've been assigned to the office as a liaison and analyst, although I will spent much of my time still at sea, when you need me, I'll be in the office and in constant contact with whom ever is running your system on a regular basis." She added and eyes Kono and Chin.

"We're going to have to hire Toast full time just to keep the technology in check." Danny stated sarcastically. "We won't be able to put one person on all this from the team, that puts us down one man, or woman," he added as Kono and Lori shot him angry looks.

"I'm open for full time employment and, thanks to my past convictions; I'd say I'm ready to work for the other side of the law." Toast stated emphatically.

"My task force my rules and I like your idea Danny," Steve winked after Danny shot him a questioning glance and his mocking back fired in his face. "Toast, welcome to Five-O, but you stay in the office, opps center, no field work of any kind. Do I make myself clear?"

"Why would I want to go out when I have all this?" Toast smiled, leaned in and wrapped his arms around the smart system. "Hello honey, I'm home." He cooed.

"I'll get you registered through naval intelligence," Catherine added and pulled Toast away from the computers as the room feel to an awkward silence.

"I'm had better get back on the evidence," Charlie waved as he quickly stepped away from the group.

"I'll drive you back to the lab, on my way to my own," Max stated, "I'm going to study those bodies again and see if I can't find any trace that will lead us to where McMahon is hiding." He added and followed Charlie out.

"I'll get everything I can on McMahon's family, his movement, his prior financial statements and anything else that might be found within the social records from before he was arrested the first time. Maybe there is something in there that can help us understands him now," Lori stated and rushed off to her work area.

"I'll pick up where Danny left off in Jersey. The cases, the trial and McMahon's incarceration; we should be able to learn something from that." Kono stated and followed Lori.

"I'm on the islands," Chin smiled, "I'll work through traffic cams, surveillance videos and facial recognition to see if we can't get something."

"I can help with that too," Toast stated from across the room, "I'll hack HPD's kaleidoscope program so that you can run facial recognition off all of the cameras on the island simultaneously to see if I can save you some time."

"You can do that?" Danny asked in shock.

"Oh yeah, that's child's play," Toast winked and was dragged back into the back office with Catherine.

"So I guess that leave you and me," Danny stated as he stood with Steve in the middle of the office.

"Are you doing alright?" Steve asked with concern.

"I'm okay," Danny smiled and playfully punched Steve in the arm, "I'm going to get on the coconut wire and see if Kamekona can get us any underground intell on Wo Fat and McMahon's movement here in Hawaii." He added and snatched a satellite phone off the smart computer.

"Sounds good," Steve nodded, "I guess that leaves me with finding the industrial farm and the company responsible for assisting in burying you alive."


	23. Media

**A/N: Hello everyone, just another little filler chapter to tide you over while I try to get myself motivated to keep writing. I'll complain of the weather because it has been so hot and humid that I can't even function, but today was cooler so I hope to get some work done now! Until I have more, I hope this is enough to tide you over!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 23: Media

With the newly expanded team, the technology upgrades and Danny's plan starting to take shape the Governor returned to Oahu at the detective's request. He walked into the Five-O HQ just as the last of the new technology was being set up and Catherine and Toast started nesting in the new geek paradise.

"Good afternoon Governor," Danny stated as he came out of his office and the rest of the team assembled in the common area around the smart table. "This is Catherine Rollins and Toast, the newest members of the team," Danny said to the Governor, introducing the strangers.

"Naval Intelligence," Catherine smiled and shook the Governor's hand.

"MIT software and hardware programming," Toast smiled with a wave, "Also technical analyst," he added.

"He's a hacker?" Dennings asked skeptically with a glance toward Steve.

"His hacking saved Danny's life," Steve stated.

"It takes one to know one," Toast added with a shrug. "And McMahon is very good, I may be better, but still, the man has some skill."

"Ah, in that case, good to see you alive and well Detective," Dennings smiled, "What is this I hear we're having a press conference today, going live on the channel 5 evening news?" he asked as he looked to Danny for guidance.

"That is my plan," Danny smiled as his team mates looked on questioningly. "We are going to use the media to smoke McMahon out of his hiding place. I'm going to go live not only to warn the public that McMahon is a sociopath, but also to show McMahon that I'm alive and that his first attempt failed. I'm going to give a graphic description of McMahon's previous cases. We're going to flash his picture all over the news and we're going to release speculation as to his known associates." Danny explained.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. The only people that know about this plan are the news stations that I have contacted and the governors' security detail, and staff who are organizing the event along with HPD and the Navy and hopefully it will be just as shocking to everyone else, as it will be to McMahon, when it's all of a sudden all over everything. My plan revolves around the idea that he doesn't know that you saved me yet. The GPS has been removed from my car, we are not using our cellular devices and the hospitals and media have not yet been give, or released, any information on me. This should be the shock and surprise that I need to send to McMahon to make him panic; or rather _react_ in his world as Daniel McMahon does not panic for anything. I don't think he knows how to. What I do know, however, is this; he's not a very good shot unless its close range and he doesn't have time to set up anything because a location for the press conference has yet to be determined and will be given at the absolute last moment. Besides, we're going to have the highest security possible and Kono on the roof with a riffle. I don't think he'll show up here, but we'll be prepared." Danny explained.

"I like this plan," Toast stated, "force him back into action and I'll be here the whole time monitoring to see if we force McMahon back online. If he thinks he still has access and he reactive his system then maybe we can get a lock on his location." Toast added as he looked to Catherine, "come on we better be programming as fast as we can to have the trap laid for the pests he may try and introduce to our new set up."

"I hear you loud and clear," Catherine stated and sat down next to Toast at a second work station. "I like this plan," she added with a smirk.

"If you spot McMahon, Kono, I need you to take the shot!" Danny stated and everyone turned to Dennings for authorization.

"In cases such as these I have to give you back your full immunity and means. Get that psychopath off my islands!" he stated, "I'll meet you back here just before 6pm, and the press conference will be organized by my staff and will happen out in front of the statue of King Kamehameha." He added and turned to leave with his security detail.

"Alright people, you heard the man, we are a go!" Danny smiled.

"Give us our orders," Catherine smiled.

Danny looked to Steve for a moment in confusion.

"This has always been your guy," Steve smiled, "take the lead, partner. It's good to have you back."

"Alright, Kono and Steve you two are on security in the square. I want my ass and the Governor's covered at all times." Danny instructed.

"We're on it!"

"Cat and Toast, get access and monitor every surveillance camera, phone line and radio signal in a fifty mile radius around HQ."

"Got it."

"Chin, Lori, you're with me. I need all the files, evidence, photos, everything we have on McMahon and I need it ready to present to the public. Make it look good." Danny stated, "We're going to put together one hell of a media package."

"Ten four."

Danny then typed something into the smart system and two visuals popped up before him. Max was visible on one screen and Charlie on the other.

"And you were worried it wasn't going to be user friendly!" Toast stated as he nudged Danny, "you pretend to not know the technology, but clearly you do."

Danny smirked and then turned back to the two men he was looking at through the virtual connection. "Hey guys, I need you to comb through the evidence and keep on building the case. If my plan for a press conference doesn't work with McMahon, we are going to need anything else we can get behind to build our case." Danny explained.

"Do you think he's on to us?" Charlie asked with a twinge of fear on his voice.

"If I've learned anything from Daniel McMahon, it is to be adaptable." Danny said as he placed a hand on the smart table and leaned for a moment, "but we have an amazing team and McMahon doesn't know or understand how smart people can be if they work together. That is why we'll win."


	24. Speak

**A/N: Exciting News! So my goal this summer was to finish the three Five-O stories that I have been working on. As of yesterday I achieved that goal and so now all there is left is to edit chapters and post them for your enjoyment. New goal, work on two brand new stories. One very Kono centered with Danny acting as mentor and a folly/crossover involving our favorite Hawaiians. Good Time!**

**I'm so happy to be able to update this story for you guys and so happy to say that I am almost done with McMahon for good. He's just got to find his way into these updates and then finally I can put him out of my mind because he's really starting to get to me. He's almost done!**

**Hope you enjoy Danny's plans to get ahead of McMahon!**

Chapter 24: Speak

Danny couldn't believe how fast the time passed and before he knew it, it was 5pm and it was time to get ready to go live. Media personnel had already stated to arrive as a podium was set up in front of HQ, with the king towering in the back ground. All around the square the street were shut down with police and navy guards, and blockades that were put into place.

Steve marched into the office in his full dress uniform, carrying with him Danny's dress uniform as well.

"You have cover from all the way around HQ. Kono isn't the only one on the roves; she's also coordinating the SWAT snipers that we have on loan. Everyone knows what McMahon looks like and they know what he is capable of, so we are prepared for everything." Steve explained, "Now you had better get dressed, the governor is going to be here any minute."

"Why are you all dressed up, Captain America?" Danny asked and eyed the uniform with distain, "I thought I was clear when I said I was doing this press conference."

"You were, and you are, but don't for one second think that I'm not going to be right beside you on that podium. McMahon went after you so that Wo Fat could get to me. Now we are going to present a completely unified front. They are not going to take either of us down and we are stronger together. I will be right there beside you the whole time representing Five-O. You can do all the talking."

"Alright," Danny smirked and took his uniform from Steve.

"Make sure you put on a vest, just in case," Steve stated when Danny turned and disappeared into his office.

"Can't be too careful" Danny smiled and disappeared.

Moments later Governor Sam Dennings walked in with two of his own security men and producers from three of the major local stations and one national news producer from the broadcasting company.

"Where is Detective Williams?" Dennings demanded of Steve as Chin and Lori stood by the computer table.

"He's changing for his big debut." Steve stated and motioned to the smart table.

"We have a package ready for the stations to air. Opening and closing remarks on the story for your news anchors and visuals to be played while Detective Williams is speaking," Chin explained as the producers stepped toward the computer.

"We also have Detective Williams' speech blocked and queued up for you," Lori added and handed file folders to the four men as well as the governor and Steve just as Danny exited his office in full regalia.

"We really need to get you into an HPD uniform," Dennings sighed at the sight of Danny's Newark PD threads.

"Next time," Danny shrugged and accepted his own file from Lori. "Are we ready to go?" he asked.

"We have another forty-five minutes to the broadcast. You are our top news story at six o-clock and we will be rebroadcasting on every other new station in affiliation through to tomorrow morning. You'll also be going live on CNN and MSNBC across the county and those stations are standing by for the live feed." The national news producer explained.

"That aught to get his attention," Danny smirked and followed Dennings down to the foyer of the palace to await their final cue.

5-0

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Steve asked impatiently as the square started to fill with more news reporters from television, radio and even internet sources.

"Nope" Danny stated calmly.

"Then why are we wasting our time?" Steve asked. "We could be out looking."

"That is what McMahon is expecting from us." Danny said calmly.

"What if you're wrong?"

"Then I'm wrong and we get back on your approach." Danny stated and grabbed his partner by the wrist to stop the anxious pacing. "Steven, do you thin I'm wrong?" Danny asked slowly when Steve finally made eye contact with him.

"No" Steve said with a sighed and some how the simple touch of his partner calmed him down.

"Then we're going to do this and it's going to work" Danny stated.

5-0

The clock in the foyer struck six o-clock and the producers shuffled into position. Danny, Steve and the Governor of Hawaii were led out to the podium by the governor's security detail and there they waited for the final count down and signal to go live.

When the signal was given Dennings walked to the podium, read the greeting then introduced Danny and the silence in the square was deafening.

"Good evening everyone, I'm Detective Daniel Williams with the Honolulu Police Department and the Five-O Task Force." Danny began seriously and coldly as his voice boomed through the speakers. "I stand before you today with an announcement and a warning. Five-O has currently embarked on a case involving a convicted sex offender and serial murderer. His name is Daniel McMahon and we have reason to believe that he has surfaced on the island of Oahu." Danny explained as a gasp arose from the crowd.

"Daniel McMahon is a psychopath and made of the things that are pure evil. He was arrested eight years ago in New Jersey and was convicted in the deaths of eighteen young children, both girls and boys all among the ages of seven to twelve. He escaped maximum security prison on the mainland eighteen months ago and is believed to be on the island as we speak. I was the arresting officer in his first case and, six days ago, I was the victim of his current involvement and reign of terror on this island. He has shot and killed two men, contaminated an HPD precinct with chemicals commonly used in the gas chamber, killing another man, and he elaborately buried me alive. His sister is currently in custody awaiting trial as his accomplice. As you can see Five-O was successful in saving my life. I am alright, but we want you to take extreme caution as he has escaped from us once already and we need you to remain safe while we continue in our attempts to apprehend such a disturbed and erratic individual." Danny explained and listened to the people that hung on his every word.

The square was so quiet Danny was certain that if McMahon was to show himself in such a place, the crowed would get a warning from the sound of the snipers cocking their weapons in preparation to strike. Danny listened intensely for that sound as he continued.

"We believe, at this time, that his current target is the Five-O Task Force, we have received certain threats along those lines, but McMahon is a creature of habit. If he finds the opportunity to strike out against a child he will. So please take extreme caution until further notice. Do not approach him. Do not leave your children unsupervised, even if it is in the safety of your back yard. He has been captured on surveillance cameras in Honolulu and more specifically along the Waikiki beach. McMahon stands at an approximate six foot two inches and is of a thin build. He is a Caucasian male, in his late sixties and his hair is graying, but he still boasts a full head of hair. His features are harsh and angular, his eyes are blue and his right forearm will be marked with a scar from a bullet wound achieved in the New Jersey arrest eight years ago. Other scars, marks and tattoos that might give him away are: a large division in his right ear where his was bitten by one of his victims, a birthmark on his left calf that has surgical scaring around it because of an attempt to have it removed but in which the mark came back. He does not have any tattoos that are known to police at this time." Danny's description, though in depth was a long shot for the people listening, but through the wonders of television, as he spoke the images of the suspect flashed on millions of television screens in Hawaii and on the mainland.

"If you have any information on the whereabouts or have seen him recently anywhere on the island please contact the number on your screen. For more information please check the HPD website, and please remember this man has killed already and he will not hesitate to kill again. We believe him to be an associate of Five-Os most wanted; Wo Fat, who is responsible for the murder of Governor Patricia Jameson. If you have any information on either of these suspects please call the number on your screen. Daniel McMahon is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Do not approach him. Do not leave your children un-attended and if you see anything suspicious contact emergency services right away. Again, his name is Daniel McMahon and he is believed to be on the island at this time. Please contact Five-O with any information. Thank you." Danny finished, having repeated himself enough times to hammer home the severity of the case. He closed his file and as quickly as before he was led back into the palace with the governor and Steve hot on his heals.


	25. Break

**A/N: Are there any NCIS: Los Angeles fans out there? I know there are, who am I kidding? So, Catherine and Toast, for the next few chapters will be my way of paying homage to a show that has recently become one of my favorites as well. When you think of Cat and Toast, I hope they remind you of Eric and Nell. I think that is one of the things that Five-O as a show really needs. They need an operations specialist, or two, with quirky personalities and brilliant minds. In my little world, where everything is perfect, Cat and Toast are my Eric and Nell.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 25: Break

From inside the office Lori and Chin watched in awed silence as Danny went live. Toast and Catherine remained glued to their monitors, watching for any surge or link, or kink, in their code, all the while they listened as Danny's voice filled the office from the video feed. They were proud to know that they had done everything in their powers to save him and bring him back to their crew safely, but most of all they realized just how much Danny held them together, brought out the best in them and fed them with the knowledge to continue on.

A chill ran down all of their backs as they listened to the passion and the fear, and the determination and urgency that were relayed through every word that Danny spoke. McMahon's previous crimes were horrific, his new crimes monstrous, and Danny's honesty at his own ordeal cut them all right to the quick. Before they knew what was going on, the speech was over, the news went back to the anchors at the desk and the next headline was read. A communal sigh arose from the Five-Os when the broadcast was done and all had gone according to plan, and without incidence.

Then suddenly Toast spoke.

"It's groundhogs day!" Toast stated as he watched the monitor before him, "and it looks like our guy has taken the bait!"

"What have you found?" Catherine asked as she rolled her chair up next to Toast and stared at what he was pointing at, as Lori and Chin rushed to see as well. "That wasn't there before!" Catherine stated as a line of code started to spread out in the mix of lines and numbers that Toast was watching.

"Oh but it was, just before McMahon cut the power to Danny in the box. That right there is the rebirth of our residual signal." Toast explained. "That is exactly what Danny predicted would happen."

"Holy shit, it worked" Lori gasped.

"Can you lock onto it?" Chin asked.

"I've been programming a special little bug just for this occasion" Toast stated with a couple of clicks, "locked and loaded" he added as new code started to appear rapidly across the screen.

"Is he trying to get into our system?" Chin asked and turned to the monitors that still played the news feed.

"He's trying to but as far as he can tell we're still off line." Toast stated.

"We've boxed in the system with high level military inscriptions. There is nothing to see here but a powerless void." Catherine explained.

"But on our end we can send out our bugs and hopefully get a full lock on where he is now that we have a signal." Toast explained. "It may take a while, but good things always come to those who wait!"

"What if he goes off line again?" Lori asked.

"I've locked onto the signal; even if it goes offline I will still have the residual link. We are online way above the grid and his capabilities. We have him exactly where we want him." Toast stated proudly and leaned back in his chair, "come to papa!"

5-0

Steve and Danny made their way back to the bullpen with Kono who had come down from the roof with a riffle under her arm. They walked in together to find everyone crowded around Toast and his computer screen.

"What's going on?" Steve asked.

"McMahon is trying to connect with the bullpen with his old code." Catherine stated.

"And I'm ready to let him," Toast stated with a smirk, "because I have a solid lock on his signal and I want him to believe that he still has all his access."

"Let him believe that," Danny stated. "I'd love to talk to him."

"Going black" Toast stated as all of the monitors died and silence fell in the expanses of the Five-O headquarters.

5-0

"Well, well, well, if you weren't saved by the good witch of the north and her little bubbles." McMahon's voice boomed from the system. "How's the air in there?" he asked mockingly.

"Give it up, Daniel, we won. Steve and the team found me, and saved me, and proved themselves to you." Danny was the first to speak as he motioned for everyone else to stay silent when the video screens didn't come back on.

"I'm so glad little Stevie proved himself." McMahon chuckled, "he has strong feelings for you and you for him, but you know how I feel about feelings. No, I have new plans for you and I want to watch you scramble. You deserve to scramble after the slanderous things you just told the whole island about me. That wasn't very nice Daniel. And imagine my surprise to see you standing there in that uniform, sadly Steven looks better in uniform then you do, but wow, alive and breathing. However did you manage that one?"

"Luck I guess."

"Oh Daniel there is no such thing as luck. No higher power watching out for you, just the mind. Your body was running on sheer adrenalin and willing itself to live. You lived because your body is strong and because your friends worked fast enough to save you." McMahon yelled. "Don't you ever be that stupid to think something else is out there that can save you; there is no divine intervention. It is that which makes you weak and I will get my hands on you, my pretty and your little dog too! Just you wait, Henry Higgins, just you wait!" he cackled wickedly and then the sounds went dead again.

**A/N: This chapters pop culture references come from the _Wizard of Oz_ and _My Fair Lady_. And Toast being awesome!**


	26. Follow

**A/N: This is the true beginning of the team tracking down McMahon. Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 26: Follow

The moments of silence only lasted briefly as Toast returned power to the office and the news broadcast returned to the screens.

"You hit a nerve there," Kono said after having remained absolutely silent holding her breath as did the rest of the team.

"McMahon hates irrationality, but more so, the belief that there is something more powerful then human beings." Danny explained.

"So luck doesn't exist?" Steve asked.

"Neither do miracles or faith in general." Danny stated with a nod, "He believes that the human body, more specifically the mind or brain, is the most powerful thing in the world and if people truly knew how to tap into its resources there would be the general global realization that human are the superior being in the universe."

"Sounds like a sad, lonely universe to live in," Lori stated as she wrinkled her nose into a scowl and then shook the idea from her mind. "This guy needs to get over himself." She added confidently, "and I think it's about time we knocked him down a few pegs."

"I agree," Danny smirked, "so where do we start?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure I found the industrial center that helped with your burial." Steve stated still in his uniform. "Though I don't think they had any idea what was going on at the time. Either way, I think we should head up there and pay the owner a little visit." He added with a smirk.

"I agree," Danny smiled, "What else are we working on?" he asked.

"We're going to trace this signal," Catherine added as she tapped Toast's computer.

"We're manning the phones," Kono said as every office phone in headquarters started ringing.

"So I guess that means you and me partner," Danny stated with a smirk.

"We're taking Chin for back up!" Steve smiled, "I have a plan."

"Save from phone duty!" Chin laughed and eyed his cousin apologetically.

Kono rolled her eyes.

"Alright, I'll change and we can head out on our way." Danny smiled, "Oh and super SEAL, can we have mild mannered Steve McGarrett back?" he asked mockingly as Steve continued to stand stalk straight and somberly. "It really is time for you to put away that uniform." He added.

"I make this look good," Steve stated as he relaxed a little.

"And he's modest, ladies and gentlemen!" Danny announced and headed for his own office.

Steve shook his head and turned toward his own office.

5-0

The drive back up to the mountains was a little longer then Danny would have liked as he was still feeling some discomfort in confined spaces, understandable so, but with the Camaro windows rolled down and Steve and Chin keeping the conversation rolling, it because much more bearable. At least he was with his friends, could move and there was beautiful sunlight streaming in from all directions, but it wouldn't be for much longer. The sun had already started to set and through it was bright, it was fading fast.

They arrived as the end of the work day was upon them and they caught the workers heading out to their vehicles to be on their way home for the evening.

"When does the next shift come one?" Steve asked of a man who seemed to be the work site foreman and probably the man Steve had talked to on the phone.

"Not till tomorrow." The man stated then hesitated at the sight of Steve's gun, "Commander McGarrett, we were not aware of what was happening when we accepted the job!" The man stated as the colour disappeared from his face.

"I'm not assuming that you did, but I need to know what happened. Was this the guy that hired you?" Steve asked as he handed the foreman a photograph of Daniel McMahon.

"No, it was his assistant." The man answered. "She came here, made the arrangements for two large excavators to head up to the site where he met the two crews."

"And what did you do when you got there?" Danny asked.

"There was like an archeological dig happening. The large, old, shipping container was off to one side with a full grid laid out all over the ground. Daniel was up there working alone with all kinds of technology he'd been setting up. He only told us his first name. Everything else was booked under the woman, Gloria Kalani. The instruction was to bury the container very specifically for his experiment. He said he was conducing sedimentary and erosion experiments and that the container was to be buried for one year's time to let the equipment monitor the movements of the ground this high up in the jungle. We have instructions to dig up the container next year. He paid us in cash, helped with placement of the container, wired the whole hole and then instructed us to fill it in."

"How long did it take?" Danny asked.

"We started at 9am and we finished at noon. Then we packed up the trailers and headed back to the park."

"And none of it seemed odd to you?" Steve asked.

"Only that there are several other construction companies much closer to the site, but we chalked that up to affordability and reputation of the quality of our services."

"Did you see McMahon after that?" Danny asked.

"No, like I said, he paid in cash and booked us for the second excavation in one year, and we left him up there with his electronics."

"Thank you, you've been very helpful." Steve stated as he saw out of the corner of his eye, Chin return to the Camaro. "If we think of anything else we'll contact you." he added and turned back to the Camaro where Chin had climbed back into the back seat.

"Did you find anything?" Steve asked as he, and Danny, climbed back into the Camaro.

"It seems legit," Chin answered as he passed a file forward. "Invoices, site photos and a detailed map with instructions" Chin explained. "They even took pictures detailing the containers appearance for liability if the container was damage. These guys really were just the hired help."

"We need to take these photos and head back to the site to see if anything is different." Danny stated as he stared out the window.

"Everything will be different. We destroyed the place getting you out." Steve said with concern on his tone.

"Maybe not," Danny said. "Come on Steve it's going to get really dark, really fast, and I need to see the jungle!"


	27. Return

**A/N: Happy weekend everyone. Hope you like today's short, albeit, important update!**

**Thank you to all of you who have been commenting and alerting this story in the resent weeks. I am overwhelmed with the onslaught of attention. It is amazing and I thank you all so much! **

Chapter 27: Return

Darkness had fallen but the crime scene unit was still on the site when Steve pulled the Camaro to a stop at the yellow tape perimeter that had been set up. Danny hesitated for a moment before getting out of the car and an eerie silence fell over all three of the Camaro's occupants.

Even though Danny had never actually laid eyes on the location of his burial, he still felt the trauma that had transpired in this place and looking past the police tape to the white tents and even further along, to the hole and the shipping container, he felt the full weight in the darkness that had settled. He had only seen the place in darkness, in flashes of the panic that had come over his body when he breathed again and was whisked away by the ambulance, and now here he was, once more in darkness, at the site. This was the place where he could have, and very nearly, died. This was the place that would forever hold a fear for him, a new fear of small places, of darkness and evil. Danny felt his breath hitch in his throat. He felt his head start to swim and spin, and for a moment he had to slam his eyes shut and think of a better place, think of sun rises and light, over the darkness and the confines of a coffin that, at the moment, he could not see. He opened his eyes again, pushing the panic that had struck him aside, when Steve cleared his throat and tapped his partner on the arm.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Steve asked as he watched the colour escape from Danny's face as the blue traumatized eyes turned to look at him. "We can leave, right now, and I can come back here tomorrow with Chin and Kono. You don't have to be here. You don't have to do this."

"I have to face my demons eventually," Danny said but still he didn't move. "Just give me a second." He stated, took a few more deep breaths and then threw opened the car door and climbed out, and with determination, Danny headed into the crime scene; pushing aside the idea that this wasn't just _his_ crime scene, but the scene where crimes against him were committed.

"What are you looking for?" Steve asked as Danny got out of the car and started shining a flashlight at the millions of trees.

"I'll tell you when I find it!" Danny stated. "Chin can you bring up the images that the CSU guys took just after I was found and compare them to the site photos we 'borrowed' from the construction company?"

"I'm on it!" Chin smirked and laid everything out on the trunk of the Camaro.

The empty shipping container sat next to the giant hole as Danny wandered back onto the scene of his burial. The coffin, however, had been long removed, and was at that moment, being analyzed back in the lab for anything that might leave traces of something or someone other then Danny himself.

"What are you looking for?" Steve asked again as Danny looked down into the hole.

"Where is the rest of the dirt?" Danny asked.

"In the pile that CSU is sifting through."

"No, I mean from before I was buried. We were told it was like an archeological site, so McMahon figured out how much dirt he would have to remove and relocate once the container took up the space in the hole." Danny explained. "Do the math; where is the rest of the dirt?"

"Why is that important?"

"Why would he go through the hassle of moving excess dirt if it weren't important?" Danny asked.

"Why _would_ you move dirt?" Steve asked out loud as he spun on the spot, "unless you had something else to hide… and where would you move it too?"

"My thoughts exactly," Danny stated and followed Steve to the edge of the cordoned off perimeter.

"I think I found what you're looking for." Chin said as he rushed across the scene to where Steve and Danny stood. "In the excavation photos there is a large mound of top soil and crates marked for removal to the university. The mound and the crates aren't in any of these crime scene shots, and there isn't a single trace of the mound where it was once situated." Chin explained as he showed the photo he had just taken of the location.

"But the vegetation is only just starting to recover. Something was placed over the location, the mound was placed on top of it to be moved and then the area was left the way it had been found." Steve explained as he rushed to the area and moved through the bruised and broken underbrush. "And we wouldn't have been looking for this because we believed this to be outside the crime scene, and any damage to the surrounding forest could be caused by our crews, but this is definitely the spot where the mount was and the forest flora is still showing the signs of the abuse it went through." Steve said as he touched a bruised leave and a broken branch.

"We need to find out what was in those crates and why the dirt was so important." Danny stated.

"I guess we're visiting the university in the morning." Steve smirked.

"I guess we are."


	28. University

**A/N: And the plot thickens! Thank you so much for all your comments on how great Danny is! I agree, he's amazing and he's working very hard. They are one step closer to McMahon in this chapter.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 28: University

The following morning after having spent another night on edge and crammed into Steve's house, Steve and Danny made their way to the university of Hawaii, Honolulu campus, to see what they could find out while the rest of the crew sought out the safety of the Five-O headquarters to continue manning the phones and taking in the tips from the very concerned population of the island.

The sun rise was a beautiful and welcome sight for Danny, as Steve drove, but the knowledge of the psychopath they were still trying to tack down was enough to keep anyone from truly feeling comfortable; Danny especially.

They arrived at the university and before long found their way to the anthropology department where the dean had been expecting them.

"I called Gabby to see if she had any ins with the professors." Danny whispered as the dean came forward.

"Do you know this man?" Steve asked and showed a mug shot of McMahon, taken when he was first arrested in New Jersey.

"Oh yes, that is Doctor Wilber Stevenson. He works primarily out of the geology department but he was on campus with us this term. We were very lucky to have him and his assistant Gloria. They are brilliant scientists, highly sought after all over the world and extremely elusive." The dean explained proudly. "But Hawaii has her charms and managed to lure him in."

"Elusive?" Danny asked skeptically.

"Oh yes, he prefers to be in the field. He'll lecture via satellite most of the time, and remains wherever he likes doing his research." The dean explained. "He's highly published, works primarily within the study of geology and human settlements but this term we were able to convince him to come to us in Hawaii for one term to conduct a techniques course. He taught extensively, spent a lot of time in the valley with a group of graduate students excavating a rather large site and bringing back some very spectacular specimens. He's been working in accordance with the museum and Doctor Gabrielle Asano. It's very interesting work."

"Is this the site?" Steve asked and showed photos of the crime scene.

"What happened to it?" The dean gasped, "That was a multimillion dollar project!"

"Your Doctor Stevenson isn't who you think he is." Danny stated, "Are you expecting him back here?"

"No, his classes are complete, he's now back to his personal research and working with Doctor Asano out of her lab," the dean explained. "But what is going on here?"

"You might want to watch the news," Danny said as he and Steve rushed out of the anthropology department.

5-0

Early in the morning Danny and Steve found the museum closed, except for a school tour that was just about to begin. Danny and Steve pulled up just in time to see Gabby come out to greet the students.

"Gabby!" Danny yelled as they rushed across the parking lot.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" she asked in shock as she broke away from the school group.

"Is Doctor Stevenson here?" Danny asked frantically.

"Yes," Gabby answered, "he's been in the lab all morning."

"Get on the bus with the kids, and the teachers, you've been working with a serial killer." Danny stated as Steve ushered the students back onto the bus. "Keep your phone on you; I'll contact you when it is safe." He added as Gabby hesitated. "Trust me Gabby, please?" Danny practically begged.

The urgency in Danny's voice and the fear in his eyes was enough to change Gabby's mind. "Okay," she stated and hopped onto the bus, "use the side door to the lab. It's quicker and will take you right into the work area. It's faster then heading through the gallery." She added and tossed the keys at Danny."

"Thank you!" He stated as Steve hopped off the bus and the driver took off.

"I have a bad feeling about this!" Steve stated as he readjusted the straps to his bullet proof vest.

"Me too," Danny stated and pressed the satellite phone to his ear, "Chin, we need back up at Gabby's lab." He stated and hung up. "Alright, let's go." He added and readied his weapon.


	29. Escape

**A/N: I know there are a lot of questions about how the university could miss the news broadcast, but keep in mind that Danny and Steve only talked to one professor and Gabby, and I know personally, that I don't watch the news unless there is something I want to know about. How many people out there actually watch the news anymore when you can just go online when it's convenient and read about it? Also, remember that the girls are back at the office fielding calls, so there are people that did recognize Doctor Stevenson and have called it in, Danny and Steve are just busy chasing down their leads. That being said, thank you everyone for the comments!**

**Anyway, this is what happens when Steve and Danny rush in. I guess the title of the chapter will give away what happens, but that's alright.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 29: Escape

Quickly and quietly, avoiding every camera they knew was on the outside of the building, Danny and Steve moved into position.

"It's a huge room and in the back is the loading area, one room is very bright and the other isn't" Danny stated bracing his partner for what he was about to experience.

"And if he runs into the museum?" Steve asked.

"It's a maze; let's hope he doesn't go that way."

"We should wait for back up," Steve stated as he watched the concern, the fear and the urgency pass over Danny's face.

"No, he knows a tour is going to start, he's probably watching the cameras. If he saw the bus leave or if he doesn't hear the silent alarms that will tell them that people are in the gallery, which there are because people even though they are told not to touch, always touch, should be sounding and if they don't he's going to get suspicious." Danny explained. "We have to move in."

"How do you know so much about the museum?" Steve asked with a smirk but at the same time he motioned, with his weapon poised, for Danny to unlock the door.

A short fumble with the keys and the lab door flew opened.

"Freeze" Danny yelled as he and Steve burst through the door and across the lab Daniel McMahon looked up from his work.

A split second decision was made and McMahon bolted behind a stack of crates as Steve and Danny opened fire.

"Move, move" Steve stated and ran after the fleeing fugitive.

The lab was a mess of stacks of crates, piles of wrapping fabric and chemical cleaners, and made for easy hiding for a fugitive that knew the space, but Danny knew it too and as he separated from Steve he caught a glimpse of movement heading into the darkness of the museum's not so glamorous loading and arrivals area. He fired off two shots of his own before Steve caught up and followed McMahon into the loading area.

It was a dark mess of stacked containers, filing cabinets and discarded materials. There was also a large pile of what Danny was sure was the missing dirt from the site, and while Danny searched for the switch for the overhead lights, Steve continued his pursuit.

"Come on Danny; get me some light in here!" Steve yelled as he pulled a flash light from his pocket and climbed up a stack of crates to gain a vantage point.

The lights flashed on just as another service door slammed and Steve bolted again with Danny following closely behind him.

Out the door both men ran, weapons at the read, and just in time to see a yellowing station wagon fly out of the parking lot and into the early morning traffic. They fired at the tires, but missed, and the car sped away.

"Steve!" Danny yelled as Steve bolted for the street.

"Danny he's getting away!" Steve yelled.

"And we have him on all of the cameras!" Danny yelled as HPD back up arrived with Chin, Kono and Lori.

5-0

Forty minutes later, with the museum cordoned off by yellow police tape and the lab over run with the crime scene unit, the school bus dropped Doctor Gabrielle Asano off out front once more and the sped off to return the children to the safety of their elementary school. Danny was waiting for her.

"What happened here?" Gabby gasped as the sight of the now bustling museum.

"It's a long story," Danny sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm going to have to ask you to come back to HQ with me so that I can ask you some questions about Doctor Stevenson."

"Whatever you need, Danny, I'll do it."

"Good, we are also going to have to confiscate everything that has come into the museum with McMahon," Danny sighed. "And the surveillance footage from all the outside cameras and your lab is going to be shut down and investigated by HPD for the foreseeable future."

"McMahon" Gabby asked in confusion. "Who is McMahon?"

"Doctor Stevenson is an alias for a man who murdered many, and whom I put away a long time ago back in Jersey."

"But he seemed like such a nice man!" Gabby gasped fearfully. "I've known him for years, he's an academic."

"He targets children, mainly, but if he had any inkling that you and I were involved with each other, which seems more and more likely, then you could have been his next target."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gabby gasped. "I mean, I figured you were busy and we don't usually talk about your cases, but this is huge…why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was buried alive by the same man only six days ago" Danny sighed, "I've only been out of the hole for three days and the whole time I've been out, I've been trying to track a killer without giving it away that I lived. I can't even use my phone right now because he has it hacked."

"Oh my god, this is insane, are you alright?" she asked as she started to shake.

"I'm okay," Danny said as she fell into his arms, "but I'm still going to have to ask you some questions."

"I understand," Gabby stated as she looked into his eyes and trembled in his arms, "but you believe me when I tell you I had no idea that any of this was happening."

"I believe you." Danny whispered and led her to the safety of the awaiting Camaro as Steve watched her with great suspicion.


	30. Advantage

**A/N: This chapter will explain Steve's apprehensions when it comes to Gabby. Enjoy!**

**Also, this first scene is very much based on the actions of Nell and Eric in NCIS:LA. It is my homage to them! Love the geek love!**

Chapter 30: Advantage

Steve marched, with a purpose, back into HQ once the investigation and crime scene at the museum was well under control. He stepped quickly toward Catherine and Toast with new commands in his every move.

Catherine and Toast swiveled their chairs around at exactly the same time to look up at Steve.

"What's up boss?" Toast asked eagerly.

Steve watched his girlfriend and his newest employee with confusion and an odd geeky sense of amusement.

"Can you get me access to all of Doctor Stevenson's research and publications?" he asked as Kono and Lori re-entered the bullpen.

"Yup" Cat and Toast answered in unison.

"Thanks…" Steve stated awkwardly and walked away as the two swiveled their chairs back around to face the computer screens.

"You seem a bit uncomfortable," Lori said as Steve made his way toward his two female counterparts.

"I'm just puzzled by the oddity that is Catherine and Toast in this setting." Steve said honestly as he looked over his shoulder toward the pair at the computers.

"They know what they're doing." Kono laughed, "and Lori and I are about to back them up."

"Good, get me everything you can on one Doctor Wilber Stevenson and track his movements through all our usual channels." Steve ordered and turned as Danny and Chin escorted Doctor Gabrielle Asano into the office and settled her in Danny's office space.

5-0

Chin and Danny sat with Gabby in Danny's office as Steve dished out orders. Charlie Fong had made it to the new crime scene and so Steve was convinced that it was now in good hands. Steve walked into Danny's office to take part in the interrogation of Doctor Asano that Danny wasn't about to let anyone call an interrogation.

"Chin, the surveillance from the museum has arrived; can you see if you can get us a license plate number on McMahon's car?" Steve asked to cover his real reason for entering the office.

"Was it the same car you'd seen McMahon in when you went rogue?" Chin asked still a little bitter and letting Steve and Danny both know that he knew why Steve was trying to get him out of the office.

"Yes, I'm sure it was the same vehicle." Steve sighed as Danny shot him a warning glare.

"Alright," Chin stated as he stood from his place in the second seat in front of Danny's desk and left the room as Steve took the seat for himself.

"How long has he been out of prison?" Gabby asked as her hands shook and the new silence gave her a change to get back to the questions Danny had promised to answer.

"Eighteen months," Danny sighed as he stood and began pacing.

"Why wasn't I contacted when Daniel was taken?" Gabby asked as she spun on Steve now. "You called his ex-wife." She accused.

"I did, because McMahon had made a threatening comment about Grace and so we moved Danny's family into protective custody off the island, where they remain while we try to catch a killer. We had no reason to believe you to be in any danger as Danny's involvement with McMahon stems from before he met you but we knew that he knew about Rachel." Steve explained. "In hide sight, you may have been an asset early in the investigation and I apologies but none of the evidence pointed toward you and McMahon was careful not to let anything slip about his involvement with the university."

"What Steve is trying to say is he's sorry that he didn't contact you but he was preoccupied with finding me and when he had, he wasn't going to give it away that I was alive because we weren't prepared to give McMahon the upper hand. We didn't have any reason to believe you would have any contact with him until the dean of anthropology mentioned your name or I would have said something this morning when I called you." Danny sighed as he paced, "it didn't even cross my mind that he could have been watching me this closely to even know about you and all my former intell on the man never told me anything about his ongoing academic pursuits."

"How long have you been working with McMahon?" Steve asked when he figured that Danny's apologies had gone on long enough.

"In person I've worked with him for less then a year; as an affiliate to the University for many years. His assistant Gloria Kalani has been a member of our faculty for almost fifteen years. She was there before I got there. She married Professor Kalani out of the geology department twenty five years before his sudden death two years ago." Gabby explained. "We never thought Gloria would come back after the tragic accident. The two of them had been out in the forest investigating sedimentary patterns for the island when a sink hole appeared under both of them. Gloria fell in first and her husband tried to save her. He managed to get her out but as he did the rest of the ground gave way and he was consumed by the mud and the jungle that fell in around him. Gloria remained in the jungle for two days at the site of the husband's death, with a broken leg, three broken ribs and a cracked collar bone, not to mention the multiple contusions she received in the fall. She was barely alive when they found her. None of us ever thought she would come back to work after that, but when the fall term started last year she was ready to work and Stevenson, I mean McMahon, came on shortly after; teaching through the winter term."

"And before that, how was McMahon affiliated with the university and your programming?" Steve asked.

"He guest lectured for many of our tenured professors. He would always appear via satellite or Skype, conduct full three hour lectures and Gloria assisted providing research for him." Gabby explained. "I was present for many of his lectures while I was finishing my doctoral dissertation."

"That would have been before his first arrest. Then he continued through his incarceration, no one would know the difference if he never appeared in public before his arrest." Danny said as he figured through the math in his head.

"He's a brilliant man and a wonderful teacher. I was so surprised that they managed to get him to come to Hawaii. I knew they had been trying but he refused until recently and when he became interested in the ancient peoples of the islands as well as the geology he was introduced to a site that we'd been very interested in studying and an excavation started. It wasn't a huge site, comparatively, the actual village is further into the valley and protected as a sacred site, but this one turned out to be very rich in artifacts, like it was a dumping ground for broken or unnecessary items by our ancestors. The site excavation ended at the beginning of last week and we've been processing the artifacts at my lab ever since." Gabby explained, "It's been pain staking work, sifting through mountains of jungle earth for the smallest pieces of debris, but we have been able to reconstruct full bowls and weapons used by the first peoples of these islands." She added with pride.

"Had you been up to the site?" Danny asked.

"Yes, but only at the very beginning for the blessing of our work. That was the only time. Everything else was organized by Wilber and Gloria and I remained in my lab or with the Museum as part of my job as curator." Gabby explained.

"But you have been working closely with McMahon, isn't that correct?" Steve accused and both Gabby and Danny shot him angry looks.

"Every time a larger artifact would come out of the ground it would be brought directly to the lab for analysis and to undergo forensic testing before being persevered or restored for showing. I only dealt with McMahon when he came into the lab; otherwise it was through electronic communications and Gloria." Gabby stated. "Am I being accused of being an accomplice to what happened to Daniel?" she asked when she had explained her situation and accused Steve of harboring false assumptions.

"No!" Danny stated and shot his partner a silencing glare, "we're just trying to piece together a time line so that we might get ahead of McMahon and bring him to justice." He explained.

"Then you should probably try and find Gloria. She's been missing for four days." Gabby stated.

"We have her in custody. Her name is actually Gladys McMahon." Steve stated.

Gabrielle sighed and shook her head, "you think you know people." She said remorsefully. "I guess her skipping out on work should have been a red flag. She was always in the lab. Punctuality was her middle name and she worked so hard. Today's school tour was supposed to be her responsibility."

"You worked closely with Gladys?" Danny asked.

"Oh yes, every day, and you've met her in the lab." Gabby confessed, "She was tenured through the museum."

"She was the one that connected you and Danny for her brother." Steve stated.

"I can't believe this," Gabby sighed as she looked at her hands, "Steve is right and I fed her information. I trusted her Danny. I was just so excited; it had been a long time since I had been in a meaningful relationship…" Gabby trailed off as she broke down. "It really is my fault!"

"No it's not!" Danny stated as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and shooed Steve out of his office.

"I don't blame you for any of this." Steve heard Danny say as he stood to leave the office and the door was shut behind him.


	31. Liar

**A/N: Hello again, here is another chapter in the interrogation room. I hope you like it!**

Chapter 31: Liar

"So you believe her?" Steve asked as Danny came out of his office leaving Gabby behind.

"Of course I believe her and if you try to convince me otherwise I might have to slap you!" Danny stated, "It's not her fault she didn't suspect one of her mentors of living a double life and being a psychopath. Now in our line of work, that is normal, but she's the curator for a museum and an academic."

"Danny's right," Kono stated as she came forward with Lori. "Doctor Wilber Stevenson hit the scene even before anyone heard about McMahon's notorious murders, even before he was called the Wonka killer. Stevenson was rising through the ranks as one of the leading geologists in the world." She explained as Catherine left Toast glued to his computer and brought her findings forward.

"Studying earth sciences and the affects of a geographic location on indigenous people is his specialty. He's even gone so far as to link medical conditions with different sedimentary deposits with his big hypothesis revolving around sedimentary conditions affecting the great extinctions."

"So a meteor didn't kill the dinosaurs?" Danny asked skeptically.

"Not according to Stevenson, it was something in the earth; a natural purification of the earth." Catherine explained, "Hypothetically speaking, of course, his research hasn't definitively proven his hypothesis."

"Sounds like his views on Darwinism within the human species working hand in hand with the planet itself." Lori stated.

"Sounds like hokum to me." Danny huffed.

"He sounds like a genius." Steve sighed.

"Understatement if you could ever imagine it being so, the man prides himself on obtaining doctorate degrees and having more of them then anyone else." Kono said as she threw a list of Stevenson's credentials up on the screen, "and his sister is no different."

"I wanna talk to this lady," Danny stated and tapped the computer table.

"I can arrange that." Steve smirked.

5-0

Danny walked silently behind Steve as they arrived on base. Commander Gutches met them at the gate once again; happy to see Danny out of the hospital and back among the living.

Gladys McMahon had been held in the same cell for four days with very little contact with the outside world. She was given water and food, but she remained in complete isolation for several days until Steve had called ahead and Gutches and his SEALs, whom Steve had left in charge of the prisoner, had moved her into the light of an interrogation room.

Gladys' eyes grew wide as Danny and Steve walked into the room.

"I recognized you too," Danny said as he sat down before her.

"I'm more surprised that you are alive." Gladys stated, "Not so much that you recognize me, I knew that you would."

"How long were you plotting this whole chain of events?" Danny asked as he narrowed his gaze.

"Have you caught my brother yet?" Gladys asked with a smirk, "or has he slipped through your fingers like sand on the shore?"

"He's not going to get away from us. We know his secret and his affiliation with the university. It's just a matter of time now, so when did you start plotting this charade?" Danny asked again,

"You finally figured him out?" Gladys giggled. "He'd been wondering how long it would take. Our mother was a Stevenson, an academic long before she met our father and fell in love with the candy man." She explained. "_My boy lollipop, do, do, do, do, you make my heart go giddy up, do, do, do, do…_" she sang.

Danny rolled his eyes as Steve's pacing became more agitated.

"Daniel decided at a very young age he wanted to be like our mother and she helped him better his education, secretly and under a pseudonym, as our father wanted him to take over the family business. I was sent to school right away by my father because girls must be educated, he believed. He was very adamant that his daughter should be his legacy and branch out while his son pulled toffee and mixed sodas for a living; to support the family. Daniel managed to do both and used both professions to his advantage." Gladys continued proudly. "It wasn't until my father was dying that Daniel told him the truth about his successful double life and my father died extremely proud of his son, of course he didn't know about Daniel's hobbies."

"When did you two start plotting my demise?" Danny asked again.

"Daniel's research is world famous; how you didn't put two and two together is the real mystery."

"Answer the god damn question!" Steve yelled as he rushed forward, grabbed Gladys by the hair and pulled her backward so forcefully that when she fell forward her head connected with the table, with a rather loud clang.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit a girl?" Gladys growled as a trickle of blood ran down from her hairline where the sharp table edge had cut her.

"She must have forgotten that before she died. Now answer the Detective's question before I forget again and use my authority on this base to begin a more forceful round of interrogations." Steve spat as he grabbed her by the front of the shirt and then threw her back into her seat.

"You don't scare me." Gladys laughed in Steve's face. "What more can you threaten me with? My children are all dead. My husband is dead. I'll be spending the rest of my life in prison and you've left me locked up in a four foot by four foot cell without proper living conditions and just a drain in the middle of the floor. Don't you think it is torture enough?"

"No, I could have you sent to Guantanamo on international suspicions and then you'll really know what third world conditions are." Steve stated with a shrug. "But if you cooperate now you'll end up in a cushy federal prison with access to continue your research and three square meals a day, and even a bunk, a toilet and a sink right in your cell."

Gladys growled at Steve,

"When did you and Daniel start plotting these actions against Steve and I?" Danny asked once more.

"The moment Steve was cleared of all accusations regarding Governor Jameson's murder and it was made public that Wo Fat was caught on video in the killing." Gladys confessed. "Imagine my surprise when you just happened to become involved with my co-worker and you made her so happy that she was as giddy as a school girl and would easily tell me anything I wanted to know about you. I fed the information to Daniel, he devised the plan, Wo Fat arranged to get him out of the Jersey penitentiary and he came here to work and monitor the situation before he put his plan into action on the anniversary of the exact day that you arrested him the first time."

"Where is he staying?" Danny asked.

"Well…I don't think he's in Kansas anymore."

"But he's still on the island because we saw him first thing this morning in the lab where you worked." Steve stated.

"Then you have better get to him before the good witch gives him the ruby slippers so that he can get out of Oz." Gladys mocked.

"Come on Steve, we're finished with her. Turn her over to HPD for booking and let them throw away the key." Danny stated as he stood and turned toward the door.

"Have fun down the rabbit hole. That's exactly where he wants you to go!" Gladys stated with a manic laugh that filled the small interrogation room just as the door was slammed once more.

**A/N: Today's pop culture references: My Boy Lollipop – Barbie Gaye, The Wizard of Oz, and Alice in Wonderland.**


	32. Contact

**A/N: Yes, this is a short chapter, but in this chapter everything comes together. The next chapter is what everyone has been waiting for, but I'm going to make you wait just a little bit longer for it. **

**So yes, these last few chapters have had a very Wizard of Oz kind of vibe to them. Any idea why? I'd love to hear your theories on it.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 32: Contact

Steve stomped into HQ, still rather rattled by the second interrogation and what he felt was a waste of time. Danny on the other hand had gotten what he wanted the moment he'd walked into the room and Gladys had laid eyes on him. It was confirmation enough for him that neither sibling had planned to have him survive and therefore, he was sure that Five-O was truly closing in and bridging the gap between them.

The car ride back had been quiet as Steve stewed and Danny plotted, but as they walked in or rather Danny walked and Steve stomped, they were greeted by a room full of their team.

"What's going on?" Steve asked grumpily.

"He made contact again!" Toast stated with a smile and hit the play back button on the system, "and we got it all on tape."

Danny and Steve listened carefully as Chin carried on a conversation mixed with riddles and that ended with McMahon singing a verse of _No Good Deeds_ from _Wicked_ and a multitude of questions about the new Queen of Danny's heart and whether Gabrielle Asano was comfy and cozy locked up with Five-Os suspects.

Danny's blood boiled, "you didn't let her hear this did you?" he asked as he looked toward his office.

"Oh God, no!" Catherine stated. "It was bad enough we had to listen to his condescending and overly confident tone. No, Gabby has stayed in your office the whole time."

"Good"

"And on the bright side, we may have cracked this case." Toast stated.

"How" Steve asked.

"Team work and a whole lot of awesome," Toast stated proudly.

"Care to explain?" Danny asked seeing the frustration cross Steve's face.

"Oh, yeah, of course" Toast laughed. "Okay, so, with help from the university and kaleidoscope and McMahon's last chatty moment we were able to get a lock on the source of the electronic signal. According to the university Doctor Stevenson is staying in a rather large and lovely house in the hills over looking Honolulu. The property is owned by the university and is used when they have prestigious professors come to lecture. With Chin's work with surveillance and the cameras at the museum, as well as the license plate he got from the video and ran through kaleidoscope, and the addressed that the university gave us, mixed with eye witnesses that have called your hotline and Catherine's super secret satellite images, we are about to pin point the location, place the car in the drive way right now and a heat signature in the house. Ta Da!" Toast stated with a slight bow.

"Alright, let's move!" Steve ordered.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Toast said as he jumped in front of Steve to stop him.

"Why not?"

"Because he's probably got the place booby trapped." Danny stated.

"There is no probability, I can guarantee that the place is locked down but give me a few hours of good old fashioned code cracking and I can have you in McMahon's house and I should be able to tell you exactly what is going on and how to deactivate it. That is if I can't re-root and deactivate it myself." Toast explained

"Alright, you get right on that." Danny smiled, "Steve, you get on closing down the perimeter around the house and calling in the backup we need. Chin, help him and don't let him do anything stupid." Danny ordered and was shot a disapproving glare from his partner.

Danny winked at Steve and then turned to Catherine. "Cat I need you to keep eyes on McMahon using whatever means you have access too. We don't want him leaving that house. Kono, Lori, you help her and keep on the phones. Call the neighbours around that house and make sure that it is absolutely McMahon who is hauled up in that house. If you can't get me an actual living person that can place McMahon in that house today, I don't want to move in."

"Got it!" the ladies stated together.

"And what about you," Steve asked.

"I'm going to make sure Gabby's alright, and then I'm going to watch over Toast's shoulder so that I know what we're up against. If we are going to walk right into a trapped house, I want to know what kind of traps so I can get us out of there." Danny explained.

"Alright," Steve said and he and Chin moved off to his office.

"I like this plan Jersey," Toast stated with a quick smile and then put all his attention back on the computer screen before him.

"I'd like to like this plan, but I won't until I'm sure it's going to work." Danny sighed and headed for his office.


	33. Ambush

**A/N: Alright, some of you know that McMahon was really, really getting to me. I mean the character was giving me nightmares and I made him up…I'm so good… anyway…this is that chapter that saves my own sanity and Danny's. I hope you like it, but I am sorry that it is the second last chapter. Next chapter we will say good-bye to this story. I hope you've liked what I have to offer. **

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 33: Ambush

"Alright are we ready?" Steve asked as he and Chin reappeared from his office as SWAT Commander Allan Flick walked into HQ with Commander Gutches and SEAL team nine.

Charlie and Max had arrived to watch the take down from the safety of the Five-O bullpen, but wanted to be apart of it and Gabby couldn't help but feel worried and somewhat responsible, but the anger had also hit her so she too was ready to see McMahon pay.

"We're ninety-five percent sure we know what plan A, plan B and plan C are, so I think you are good to go." Toast announced in response to Steve's question.

"Only ninety-five percent" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well yeah, I can't stop him if he does something physical to you and I can't stop a bullet if he tries to shoot you so I'm leaving a five percent margin for error in my prediction." Toast explained.

"I brought the equipment to stop a bullet!" Gutches stated and pet a large duffle bag he'd been carrying.

"And anything physical I'm sure that Danny and I can handle." Steve smirked as Danny threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Then I'll bump my prediction to a ninety-nine percent success rate because I'm sure I'm controlling every nook and cranny of that house." Toast stated and motioned to his monitor and the constantly moving code. "Isn't it lovely?" he sighed happily.

Catherine nodded her agreement to everything Toast had said while Steve nodded suspiciously at the relationship that had developed in the new opps center between Toast and his girlfriend.

"Alright, with a few last minute preparations then Steve and I are going to move in." Danny stated but there was nervousness on his voice.

"You sure you want to do this?" Steve asked. "I could take the others in on the raid."

"No, I have to do this for my own sanity," Danny sighed with a determination on his voice, "I know you've got my back and I know the team has yours." He added.

"Yes, we are a well oiled machine," Steve smirked and Danny rolled his eyes.

"You're not making this better," Danny huffed and headed off to his office.

5-0

Danny and Steve walked slowly into the house, their every move and every sound monitored by the tech team back at the office.

"I still think this is a terrible idea," Steve stated as he took the lead covering area after area in the house.

In the car, on the way to the established location Danny confessed to Steve what Toast had found and was sure he had disabled. The idea of facing some of the weapons that Danny was describing didn't sit well with Steve and as Danny tried to convince him it was going to be okay, Steve painted picture after picture of possible bad scenarios they could get themselves in. The roles were revered in the Camaro on this day except Danny was playing the role of himself, and Steve was also playing Danny in the 'everything could go wrong' conversation.

The worst idea of all, in Steve's mind, was that Danny wanted to take the lead, wanted to antagonize McMahon and then capture the prey. Steve wanted to shoot him and get it over with, and then put the whole nightmare behind them, but that wasn't Danny's plan, and Steve knew that he had to let Danny deal with his daemons in some way; he just really didn't like the plan that Danny had come up with.

"I don't like the feel of this," Steve stated as he walked from room to room with his weapon drawn.

"You've told me that so many times!" Danny sighed.

"You should listen to him." Daniel McMahon stated as he swiveled around in his chair and smiled at the approaching duo.

"Put your hands where I can see them." Steve stated at the sight of his fugitive.

"Do you honestly think I'll let you take me in that easily?" McMahon chuckled.

"Do you honestly think he won't shoot you?" Danny stated and motioned toward his partner. "I should shoot you myself."

"Shoot me or don't you'll not make it out of this house alive," McMahon chuckled, "you have to understand that I know this is the end for me. I wouldn't survive if I escaped anyway because there are too many people looking for me now and a few that want revenge, so why wouldn't I let you come and sacrifice myself to get to you. So I guarantee that you won't get out of this one Daniel."

"That's what you said about the coffin and yet here I am." Danny stated confidently.

"Well if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" McMahon sang.

"What are you planning?" Steve asked with his weapon ever trained on McMahon.

"Wouldn't you like to know," McMahon smirked, "my word; you are good looking in person. What a shame it is that I have to kill you…and in such a terrible way that you won't even leave a beautiful corpse. But alas, Steven, beautiful Steven, I cannot in right conscience let you live just because you are pretty, no, that is not fair at all. You did not prove your mind to me, you brute, I believe that Daniel did all the work and you just run around, albeit beautifully, wielding your gun. No, I cannot let you live, and I don't regret it, but I do regret putting you through this Daniel. You're mind is beautiful, worth saving and expanding. You could have been great, you know, brilliant, even."

"Now it is you who is underestimating us." Danny stated. "I think we already know you plan to push the little red button." He added with a smile. "I think we've outsmarted you, because we pulled all of our resources and thought it through together. Many beautiful minds in collaboration, it what smart people really do."

McMahon raised an eyebrow to his adversary.

"You have this while house rigged and sealed up tight to release an invisible gas that will slowly put us to sleep, then the poison will seep through the blood stream and our hearts will stop. Like getting into your car in the garage and not opening the doors." Steve explained.

McMahon's eyes grew wide.

"But that's only plan A, plan B is a little more sinister, it is to set a spark that will ignite another chemical that you have painted onto the walls, odorless but extremely flammable, but it must be touched by a large flame that you have rigged to another little red button, because the spark from, say a hand gun, won't have enough power to ignite the chemicals even if they do happen to touch." Steve explained as if he were an expert in incendiary devices, which he was.

Anger flashed in McMahon's eyes.

"It's alright though we came prepared for that, as we speak fire and rescue are outside, HPD and SWAT are also waiting for our signal, but you planned for that as well, didn't you?" Danny asked.

McMahon smirked.

"That's why the whole house is ridded with explosives and with the push of a button the mines you've placed in the yard and the explosives in the walls will all be activated. You know your own time is up but you may as well send us all to hell at the same time, in a blaze of glory?" Steve asked with a smirk.

"Bon Jovi, nice," Danny smiled as he turned to his partner.

Steve winked.

"Dropping a house on us is very symbolic, I would think, with all of your _Wizard of Oz_, metaphors it was the first thing we thought of." Danny stated. "But we're not the wicket witch of the east; we're not wicked at all. We're the good guys, and good always winds. So I dare you to try and push that button."

"You are correct, with one little button," McMahon stated and pulled the remote detonator out of his pocket, "no bigger than a car starter and yet it will end it all."

"Push it!" Danny ordered. "Push the button, I dare you!"

"What have you done?" McMahon yelled when he pushed the button and nothing happened.

"We've infected your system, re-rooted it to our operations center and are controlling your every move from there. As we speak the bomb squad is disarming the land mines, the fire department is preparing a solution to neutralize the chemicals in the paint and our operations and technical personnel were feeding false information to all your video cameras to buy us time, while Steve and I disarmed all of your chemical canisters that were once poised to poison us all. Everything you've been watching for the past forty-eight hours has been ingeniously staged and beautifully fabricated so that we have the upper hand." Danny explained. "Check Mate, my good sir."

"I don't suppose you planned for my plan D!" McMahon yelled as he pulled a weapon from the band of his pants and rushed toward Steve, firing off two rounds right into his chest.

The sound of a third shot resonated through the house as Danny stood stalk still and McMahon fell to his knees as Steve fell backward onto the ground.

"Steve, are you alright?" Danny asked as he continued to train his weapon on McMahon.

Shocked McMahon tired once more, turning his attention to Danny, and Danny fired a second shot that knocked the gun out of Daniel McMahon's hand and Danny kicked it across the floor to Steve.

"I'm alright," Steve moaned as he felt the weapon slid into him. He sat up, and then taking a deep breath he rose to his feet with both weapons in his hands.

McMahon sucked in a shocked and painful breath as blood rose to his mouth and he fell backward into the pooling blood from the wound in his chest.

"We planned for everything," Danny hissed as McMahon coughed at his feet.

"How" McMahon whispered.

"Navy issued body armor." Danny smirked, "I knew your real target was Steve and to prove to you that I was as smart as you thought I was, I used Steve against you. I knew that if you were to act irrationally and react to your situation for the first time in your life, you would go after Steve to get back at me so I sent Steve in first, with the highest grade body armor knowing you would eventually crack and shoot him first."

"You figured it all out, again, Daniel. I'm proud of you." McMahon gasped for air as the blood trickled from his open mouth.

"You were never going to win, because you don't know what it is like to care for other people. You think that they are the ultimate weakness, but really they are what give us strength." Danny stated as McMahon's body gave a final convulsion and his eyes glassed over.

"Next time, you take the bullets!" Steve stated still in a lot of pain from the impact as Danny bent over and checked McMahon for a pulse. When he didn't find one he closed the murderers eyes and stood again. "Excuse me, next time? I don't think so Steve; those are pay back for getting me shot on the first day. You are now officially forgiven." Danny smiled.

"I took those willingly." Steve stated as he leaned on his partner for help.

"Let's get you to a hospital." Danny said as he shook his head.

"I told you I didn't like this plan, not one little bit." Steve sighed as the ache radiated through his body. "Getting shot sucks" He moaned.

"Tell me about it!" Danny stated and rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to be okay?" Steve asked more concerned for his partner then himself.

"Probably not, but he's dead so I guess there is room to heal." Danny smiled, "now come on, you goof, you've been shot!"


	34. Reunion

**A/N: Well, it's September 1st, where I am so I am posting again because I wanted to get the last chapter of this story posted. This is it. Another story has come to a conclusion. I want to thank everyone who was so supportive and excited about this story. I had a great time writing it. It was a lot of fun and kinda scary at time, but I made it through and so did Danny. Thank you, thank you, thank you a million time. **

Chapter 34: Reunion

Danny and Steve walked out of the house to find the yard, the street and everywhere they looked a buzz with activity. The ambulances were poised for injuries and casualties. The police officers held off the advancing crows so that they didn't come to close to the scene of the crime as the bomb squad uncovered mines in the yard, the fire department removed canisters of only god knows what from the garage and Chin, Kono and Lori stood by, weapons in their hands, ready to rush in at Steve's command.

"The target is neutralized," Danny stated as he walked up to his friends with Steve leaning, heavily, on his right side.

"You okay boss?" Kono asked with concern.

"Everything went exactly as Danny planned, right down to me getting shot," Steve sighed, "but I'll be okay."

"How did you know it would happen that way?" Lori asked as she looked into Danny's tortured eyes.

"McMahon is calculated, if anything his life is planned out by the step. It may seem random, but he plans for everything, well everything that is within his control." Danny explained, "He just didn't factor in that I would shoot him, or maybe he did and he just didn't think I was a good enough shot."

"I'd read the report from the first time he was arrested." Chin smirked, "you didn't shoot then, even though he had been shooting at others. He wasn't shot, you weren't shot, and then you managed to get him into custody. How did you do it then?"

"When he back was turned and he was firing at the diversion that my partner was creating, I tackled him. He though I was a lone until he heard movement in the building and he started shooting at whatever he couldn't see." Danny explained.

"Why didn't you tackle him this time, why did you shoot?" Steve asked as Lori helped him pull off his shirt and then they worked on the Velcro straps of his body armor.

"He needed to die," Danny sighed, "none of us could have found closure if that monster was left alive. I don't pretend to be proud of what I did, but at least he can't come after us again."

The four other members of Danny's family nodded their understanding as Steve continued to struggle with the armor.

"Alright, that's enough of talk. I don't want to talk anymore." Danny stated as he saw the bruise that was appearing on Steve's chest, "you need to get that checked out."

"I forgive you for getting me shot." Steve smirked as he turned toward the waiting ambulance.

"You didn't have a choice," Danny sighed, "and I'm sorry for that."

5-0

Early the next morning Danny found himself standing at the arrivals gate for another one of Hawaii air line's flights just waiting. Behind him, sitting just away from the actual gate, but just as excited were his friends, all of them, and they waited for the sight of the little person that always brought joy to all of their lives.

Grace rushed through the gate, determined and excited, knowing that her father would be waiting for her. She had known about the ordeal. Had watched the news cast, had been dragged away from her home to safety. She had been left to worry, the whole time she didn't see her father, but he had promised to be there to meet her and as she rushed through the sliding doors that opened into the public areas she saw him, smiling, and waiting for her.

"Oh my god, I love you, I love you, I love you," Danny stated as he scooped his running child into his arms and hugged her and kissed her.

"I love you too!" Grace whispered into his ear, "and I missed you so much!"

Steve watched the moment with pride, knowing that he had saves his friend. Knowing that he had helped his friend to concur one of the many daemons that would pop up in his life time and that he had helped bring about a reunion that McMahon has threatened would never happen. It was a moment of happiness that Steve had worried would never come because of the ordeal they had all been through, but they had vowed to one another that they would get through it and together they had.

5-0

For three days after the case closed, the crew split up trying to re-establish their lives which had been so disturbed by the events that had brought them all together and torn them apart. They had spent nearly two weeks together, non-stop, for safety sake and now, though the separation was difficult, it had to happen so that they could all move on.

Steve spent three glorious days with Catherine and didn't have to share her with Toast, while Toast nested in the Five-O office, setting himself up for a career of crime fighting from the safety of the Five-O bullpen and building himself electronic wall that would protect him and his new found family. Toast knew that he was not a strong man, in the physical sense, but he was strong in his knowledge and he vowed that nothing would get past him and into their system ever again.

Danny spent the days with Grace, with much appreciation to Rachel for allowing it, and his night he spent with Gabby, making up for the fact that she had felt left out, had been put in danger because of him and who, ultimately, helped crack the case in the end.

Chin returned to Malia as she managed time off to be with him and they did what a newly married couple ought to be doing, rather then spending their time completely apart and wrapped up in their jobs.

Charlie and Max turned their noses up to more work when they could be hanging out and talking comic books, they had found many interests in common while staying cooped up in Steve's place and were now exploring their same interests in true geek fashion. It was a budding bromance, and both men were completely and totally okay with it.

Kono found herself with her new boyfriend, whom no one knew anything about, but who they were willing to trust, if only because they knew Kono could take care of things if he tried anything dishonorable.

And lastly Lori returned to her garden, her exploration of the islands that she now called home and the comfort of knowing that she was truly part of a team, a really good team of people hell bent on bringing justice to the world.

Thought they were separated they were united, because they knew that they were safe from the evil that had plagued them. Danny had been right. McMahon needed to be dead, taken away by the coroner, autopsied and the body released to be buried and forgotten. Gladys McMahon was locked away in the state pen, with charges pending against her, a court date looming and a million pieces of evidence against her to link her to her brother and his murders was piling up. She would not be free, not ever, if Five-O had anything to do with it.

And so, the team moved on. They needed to redefine the boundaries between them but it brought them closer together. They worried for one another. They communicated better with one another, but most of all they knew that they were capable of even the biggest tasks. They would be there for each other and if ever again one of their own would be taken, they would find away to save them.

5-0

By the following Monday morning Steve was arriving out front of Danny's new apartment to make sure his partner and best friend was going to make it into work. He saw the superintendent outside, fixing the two broken lights that were supposed to light the stair well, but hadn't the night that Danny was taken.

Steve waited a moment in the parking lot, eyeing the silver Camaro that was parked there and then his eyes were drawn upward to where he knew Danny's door to be. Then he pulled his new cell out of his pocket and dialed Danny's number.

"Yeah, yeah, I saw you pull in." Danny stated as he answered the phone. "You can come up and get the car keys and wait while I finish my dishes, or you can stay down there like a looser!"

"I'm on my way up!" Steve laughed as he hung up, shut down the truck and jumped out ready to start the day, just as it should have started before the whole ordeal had happened.

The End


End file.
